British and American health policy: recent lessons from one system to the other

Arguably, US and British health-care policies have shown some convergence in recent years, despite vast differences in the two health-care systems. In part, this reflects the incentives common to all systems which must be mobilized to improve efficiency and effectiveness; in part, this reflects the (two-way) trans-Atlantic 'trendiness' of ideas. This article seeks to examine the main context of policy affecting the two health-care systems, the means now used to achieve the systems' goals, and the validity of claims of convergence. The focus is conceptual, although a significant aim is to assess recent policies in a comparative framework.