Ebook Overcharged Why Americans Pay Too Much For Health Care 9781944424763 Medicine Health Science Books

Product details Paperback 592 pages Publisher Cato Institute; 1 edition (July 3, 2018) Language English ISBN-10 1944424768

Overcharged Why Americans Pay Too Much For Health Care 9781944424763 Medicine Health Science Books Reviews

• This is a fantastic review of the multiple problems that beset American Health care from a position that doesn't pretend the right answer is easy, obvious, or necessarily governmental. Although I don't agree with all of their assertions, it is one of the few books I have read that has actually changed my mind about something I thought I was well informed on (specifically the reasons and benefits of the drug pricing model in the US).
  
  I recommend this book for anyone interested in health care economics.
• Why are health care costs so high? This books provides the answer and it is as simple as the government laws and programs that regulate and provide health care have ignored basic economics. The book channels Milton Friedman. Nothing like a good back to basics analysis to explain the bad results of big government good intentions.
• I read this book because I'm five months from Social Security and Medicare. It's astounding how many sectors of our economy are driven by corruption and inefficiency by government interference. My former industry of real estate and finance is another good example. The authors hit the bullseye that consumers drive the free market to efficiency when they have to personally write the check instead of relying on third parties for payments of goods and services.
• I am a physician and recently spent a month in a local hospital. Both the hospital and its hospitalists are scamming us and the government. You should read this study and learn why we need to replace Medicare, MediCal, and all similar medical insurance plans with a pay as you go plan with a high deductible. It is cheaper and you will gain control over your medical treatment and expenses.
• I must confess. I’m usually not an eager reader of Cato Institute publications. Many of them come off as overly-wonkish, Chamber of Commerce-approved reports. But I had heard good things about Charles Silver’s and David A. Hyman’s new book, "Overcharged Why Americans Pay Too Much for Health Care," and decided to give it a good cover-to-cover read. I’m glad I did.
  
  It is easy to get angry reading this book. I’m sure my blood pressure increased a few points as they went through their litany of examples of fraud, waste and abuse, across both public (Medicare, Medicaid ) and private insurance systems. But it is an argument that must be made and that everyone should hear Our system of 3rd party payers desensitizes healthcare consumers to costs and encourages over-consumption. This is encouraged by political control over the public programs, which is captured by the healthcare industry, to maximize the amount of taxpayers dollars transferred to this sector. The end result is the overly-costly system we have today. It is working by design.
  
  The solution? The authors propose a range of approaches, from the Singaporean model of mandatory personal health savings accounts topped of by government contributions for the poor, a system of “prizes” for new drug development instead of patents, spurring market-based competition from private hospitals and clinics , domestic and international (the Surgery Center of Oklahoma and the Narayana Health Hospital in Bangalore both get props), and in general, focusing more on 1st party, individual spending for routine and predictable medical expenses, from band-aids to pregnancies, reserving 3rd party insurance for truly unforeseen catastrophic cases.
  
  Of course, the authors drive home the point that the “medicare for all” option, being discussed in some circles today, would just double down on failure. I’d highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to win the argument the next time their Facebook friends spout off about the supposed virtues of such an expansion.
  
  One last thing — The book, aside from the importance of the argument it makes, is a damn good read as well. It is well-organized, keeps a good pace, the examples are vivid and memorable, and in general, it keeps the reader’s attention.
• Very important information explaining the current healthcare system in the US. Very clear explanation of the policies and issues that cause the US healthcare system to be incredibly expensive and inefficient. Also does a good job of describing ideas that may help with the issues. I don't believe all the author's recommendations are feasible as it assumes that the American public will make good healthcare choices if given healthcare funding directly. That may be true for 80% of the population, but the authors don't acknowledge or deal with how to help those individuals and families that aren't likely to make good healthcare choices on their own. Overall, a very important read for anyone interested in understanding the issues with the American healthcare system today.
• Great body of evidence on why our healthcare system is so dysfunctional. It explores the problems with pharmaceutical prices. It looks st how the market system could potentially improve the situation if the market were allowed to work. The final chapter on Morality and Healthcare is very provocative and worth the purchase on it's own. You will not be disappointed.
• I've been a libertarian for 20 years and thought I knew all the sins of health care. But my eyes were still popping out cartoon-style at the most outlandish statistics and anecdotes so abundant in this book, many of which would be hysterical in their absurdity if they weren't also so expensive and criminally cruel. READ THIS BOOK if you want a firm, thorough grasp of the arguments against third-payor systems, especially a single third-payor, specter of which continuously haunts the speeches of Democrats in vogue. If you're really lucky, you'll find a third-payor advocate who's willing to read the book themselves, but if not, then at least you can marshal a few counterpoints for the memory bank.