Health Care Reform Now!: A Prescription for Change

by George C. Halvorson

The United States spends more money on health care by far than any other country and yet nearly 50,000,000 Americans are uninsured at least part of the time each year. Health Care Reform Now! is written for anyone who cares enough about our health care situation to consider serious alternatives to the current system. In this book George Halvorson―an internationally known health care leader and author―offers a sensible approach to health care reform and universal coverage that can work for all stakeholders. Step by step, George Halvorson outlines a game plan for a truly world-class health care system that will appeal to policy makers on both ends of the political spectrum and will deliver health care with improved quality, better access, provider accountability, performance transparency, consumer choice, and individual empowerment.

Genres: Health Care, Politics, Nonfiction

384 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2007

Reviews

[Karl Tenney]

This book was an extreme disappointment. The author is wordy and clearly approached the subject with an agenda. He completely avoids several subjects that would truly bring down the cost of health care 1) Allowing interstate competition between insurance companies and 2) Frivolous Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Reform. In the one example of "competition' he does sight (Lasik surgery) he completely ignores the fact that there was no government involvement of any kind and that is what brought the cost down and the quality up. He does point out that the US spends more on care but ignores the fact that we have the highest survival rates in the world for things like cancer and heart disease.

From Firstthings.com: "One of the excellent aspects of the current American health care system is that most people can get immediate help if they become very ill. Not true in places like Canada or the UK, where waiting lines for crucial imaging tests can range in the several months–months that for cancer patients can mean the difference between living and dying.

I decided to do a little research on cancer survival rates, and it turns out USA is # 1. From the fact sheet put out in 07 from the National Center for Policy Analysis:

According to the survey of cancer survival rates in Europe and the United States, published recently in Lancet Oncology :

* American women have a 63 percent chance of living at least five years after a cancer diagnosis, compared to 56 percent for European women. [See Figure I.] U.S. Cancer Care Is Number One. fig1
* American men have a five-year survival rate of 66 percent — compared to only 47 percent for European men.
* Among European countries, only Sweden has an overall survival rate for men of more than 60 percent.
* For women, only three European countries (Sweden, Belgium and Switzerland) have an overall survival rate of more than 60 percent.

These figures reflect the care available to all Americans, not just those with private health coverage. Great Britain, known for its 50-year-old government-run, universal health care system, fares worse than the European average: British men have a five-year survival rate of only 45 percent; women, only 53 percent.

But what about Canada, Wesley? Canada is the ideal of single payer health care:

Canada’s system of national health insurance is often cited as a model for the United States. But an analysis of 2001 to 2003 data by June O’Neill, former director of the Congressional Budget Office, and economist David O’Neill, found that overall cancer survival rates are higher in the United States than in Canada:

* For women, the average survival rate for all cancers is 61 percent in the United States, compared to 58 percent in Canada.
* For men, the average survival rate for all cancers is 57 percent in the United States, compared to 53 percent in Canada."


With all the compassion of the IRS, all the efficiency of the Post Office, and all the effectiveness of the Katrina response why on earth would anyone want the government to take over health care? Name one government project that has come in ahead of schedule and under budget. You can't do it.

Free health care has been tried in Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire and Hawaii and failed miserably. Hawaii had to completely shut their program down after only seven months because it was bankrupting the state.

The author is wrong and I simply could not disagree with him more.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book surprised me. I started reading it because it was one of the few healthcare reform books written by someone who had the experience to make practical suggestions - the CEO of Kaiser Permenante Health Care. I expected the book to promote a nationalized health care system but instead it focused on how a large amount of the cost of healthcare can be reduced on the physician/insurance company side. So far, it's made a lot of good points about how systems based thinking can improve healthcare and how the health care industry doesn't operate like many of the other industries in the country. It does get a little slow when the author starts really focusing on policy issues and the ways to practically integrate the system, but I understand this needs to be included to show his suggestions could realistically work and aren't overly idealistic.

[Melsene G · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book may be a bit outdated since it predates the new health care legislation. However, it does give you background on where the healthcare dollars are spent. Five chronic diseases are a big piece of the pie and more primary care is certainly needed as is a continuum of care. He advocates for universal coverage-which is what the new law attempts to do with its individual mandate. Changes are clearly needed but having the government control and run healthcare is not the answer IMHO. It's certainly food for thought, but takes a socialistic position which many may not agree with.

[Reece · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Best book on Health Care in America. The author is the CEO of Kaiser Permanente. One of my favorite elements of this book is the international perspective, health care systems around the world are looked at, the good and the bad, but there is much we can learn from the rest of the world.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

My boss lent this to me... only on the first chapter. But, so far, so good!

[C · Rating 2 out of 5]

Listened to couple chapters read on tape; actually read and skimmed rest...

[Clint · Rating 3 out of 5]

also read three key years, not in goodreads yet