This book surveys some of the most significant topics in recent health  systems analysis (the role of rights in health care provision, the    fluctuating level and type of health insurance coverage across states,  and important shifts in legal frameworks impacting the provision of   health care). The contributions to the volume document how these       trends converge or diverge across jurisdictions, but they also probe   the interplay of these variables (does the existence of a justiciable  ôrightö to health care lead to better insurance coverage, or to a more  thoroughgoing focus on public health measures. While some major       Western European states (United Kingdom, Italy, Spain) are represented  in this discussion, the work includes other Eastern European and      Euro-Asian nations that have been neglected in much of the literature  on comparative health systems. Thus, it is focused on newly democratic  Eastern states, as they are still in the process of significant       reform, and are still finding their way. In this regard, the           publication includes analyses of Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Serbia,      Slovenia, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Kazahstan, Azerbajan, and       Georgia, written by legal advisors and early-career researchers who    are intimately familiar not only with the stateÆs laws and policies,   but also the wider social and political context which gives these      health care systems their particular characteristics. To this mix,     Brazil has also been added as a particularly useful complement to the  discussion since it is one of the few large states to acknowledge the  existence of a justiciable health care right.