It scrutinizes the shift to for-profit care while analyzing the pharmaceutical industry, issues surrounding long-term care, the plight of the uninsured, and nursing shortages. This new edition features expanded and updated information on: The 2010 passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), its role in insuring millions of Americans, and Republican efforts to weaken or repeal it; COVID-19's widespread impacts on the US health care system, including the expansion of telehealth services; Differences between Medicaid and Medicare plans and changes to these services in the twenty-first century; Laws affecting US health care, including the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Securities Act, the No Surprises Act, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act