This book explores significant developments of the welfare state in the context of milestone health insurance reforms in two important Asian democracies, Korea and Thailand. The author argues that the changes in health policy, which introduced universal health coverage in Thailand and a single-payer fund in Korea, established greater redistribution in health spending and improved equity in access to health care. In privileging universality and solidarity, the reforms defied patterns of retrenchment prevailing in other parts of the world. The book traces the rise of new progressive welfare...