This introductory chapter conceptualises the absence of universal health care as a policy problem which requires a problem-solving approach if it is to be addressed. It develops the theoretical framing of the book: a policy design approach to health care. The chapter presents five challenges (governance; provision; financing; payment; and setting standards) that governments need to meet in their efforts to achieve universal health care, and the types of policy tools (stewardship and coordination; ownership and management; risk pooling; retrospective and prospective payments; and regulations) available to them. The chapter summarises the core argument around the importance of ownership and management of public hospitals, and the need for regulatory frameworks to manage private providers.