<p>Peter Nan-shong Lee's Public Policy and Health Care in China: The Case of Public Insurance (Lee, 2024) comprehensively analyzes the transformation of the Chinese healthcare system over the past four decades from the perspectives of public policy, fiscal sustainability, social equity, and ethical governance. Lee argues that healthcare financing in China has produced a new "hybrid governance" model positioned between statist welfare and market-based mechanisms. This approach treats healthcare not merely as a technical field of financial regulation but also as a political process through which the public good is redefined. The book's historical analysis demonstrates that the revenue-generating mandate imposed on hospitals from the 1980s onward steered healthcare towards a market logic, significantly increasing inequalities. Lee examines in detail the three subsequent public insurance programs—basic insurance for urban workers, insurance for urban residents, and a cooperative insurance system for rural areas. He argues that while these programs appear comprehensive, in practice they created new institutionally based divisions between income groups. Field interviews reveal that differences in the fiscal capacity of local governments significantly alter the implementation of national policies. This creates a persistent lack of alignment between central policy texts and local practices. Lee's analytical framework highlights the tension between fiscal discipline and social solidarity, while the impact of copayments and out-of-pocket payments on low-income groups opens up ethical debate. Ultimately, the work is an important public policy analysis that challenges the question of whether healthcare is a right or a market product.</p>