Full Description
Shock Therapy For the American Health Care System describes the problems of the health care system and offers a program of comprehensive reform that is more far-reaching than anything currently being proposed.
From a veteran physician comes this remarkably clear-eyed look at what's wrong with how we adminster and pay for health care and what can be done to fix it.
In Shock Therapy for the American Health Care System: Why Comprehensive Reform Is Needed, Dr. Robert Levine offers an easily understandable diagnosis of the problems plaguing our current health care infrastructure, with discussions that include the roles of various stakeholders—insurance companies, "big pharma," hospitals, health care providers, and patients. He also dispels a number of myths designed to make voters leery of any reform efforts. Levine's comprehensive plan addresses everything from bloated bureaucracies to unnecessary procedures to the handling of negligence and malpractice lawsuits/claims. Throughout, Levine backs his proposals with facts and comparisons to systems in various countries, and concludes that even now, with disaster looming, the ultimate goal of providing health insurance for every American is achievable and affordable.
Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgments
CHAPTER 1 Introduction
Addressing the Myths about Health Care Reform
CHAPTER 2 Evolution of the American Health Care System
The Changing Physician, Organized Medicine, and Efforts at Health Care Reform
CHAPTER 3 Evolution of the American Health Care System
Hospitals, the Health Insurance Industry, the Pharmaceutical Industry, and the Medical Device Industry
CHAPTER 4 Problems with the Current Health Care System
CHAPTER 5 Malpractice and Medical Negligence
CHAPTER 6 Comprehensive Health Care Reform
CHAPTER 7 Proposals for U.S. Health Care Reform and a Brief Survey of Other Nations' Health Care Systems
CHAPTER 8 Obstacles to Comprehensive Reform
CHAPTER 9 Conclusion
Notes
Index
About the Author
