Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 314
Trim: 6 x 9
978-0-7425-5830-4 • Paperback • August 2008 • $19.95 • (£14.99)
978-0-7425-6591-3 • eBook • March 2007 • $19.00 • (£14.99)
Arthur Garson, Jr., MD, MPH, is Executive Vice President and Provost of the University of Virginia and previously was dean of the University's School of Medicine. He is a member of the National Academics Institute of Medicine. He has served as president of the American College of Cardiology and was appointed by Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson to chair the National Advisory Council for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. He continues to practice medicine, caring for children with heart disease. Carolyn L. Engelhard, MPA, is assistant professor of medical education and a health policy analyst in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. In addition, she directs the Master of Science program in clinical research and provides technical and consultative services to state health and Medicaid agencies.
Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 I. Our Country and the World
Chapter 3 1. American Medical Care Is Second-Rate Compared to Other Countries
Chapter 4 2. American Health Care Is the Most Expensive in the World
Chapter 5 II. Cost: The Expensive Care Myths
Chapter 6 3. America Wastes One-Half of its Medical Care Dollars
Chapter 7 4. Most Medical Care Dollars Are Spent in the Last Six Months of Life
Chapter 8 5. Better Quality Saves Money
Chapter 9 6. Preventive Care Saves Money
Chapter 10 7. America Will Not Ration Health Care
Chapter 11 III. Quality: The Good Care Myths
Chapter 12 8. Science Drives Most Medical Decisions
Chapter 13 9. High Quality Care Cannot Be Defined
Chapter 14 10. Consumers Can Make the Best Decisions about Their Medical Care
Chapter 15 11. Fewer Doctors Will Be Needed As Medicine Changes
Chapter 16 12. The Current Malpractice System Helps Patients
Chapter 17 13. Managing Care Is Evil
Chapter 18 IV. Coverage: The Insurance, Underinsurance, and Uninsurance Myths
Chapter 19 14. In America, There Is a Safety Net of Government Programs Providing Health Care for the Poor
Chapter 20 15. People Who Work Can Afford Health Insurance
Chapter 21 16. Provision of Health Insurance for Employees Has Always Been the Employer's Responsibility, and Will Continue That Way
Chapter 22 17. The Uninsured Get the Care They Need in Emergency Rooms
Chapter 23 18. No Additional Funding Is Needed to Cover the Uninsured; the Money is Available in the System
Chapter 24 V. The Future
Chapter 25 19. All Other Countries Provide Health Care Coverage for Everyone; We Should Be No Different
Chapter 26 20. Major Change in the American Health Care System is Impossible
Before one can make a cure, one has to get the right diagnosis. This book is an outstanding addition to the debate on fixing American healthcare with its thoughtful exposure of myths with well researched reality. It is a must read for the public, payers,physicians and policy makers....
— J. James Rohack M.D, director, Scott and White Center for Healthcare Policy
A realistic perspective on our health care system that is highly informative yet refreshingly optimistic when it comes to needed change.....
— Steven A. Wartman M.D., PhD, president and chief executive officer, Association of Academic Health Centers
How exhilarating it is to read a book on health care policy that dispels delusions—that prevention always saves money, that we can stop growth of health care spending without rationing, that doctors always know what they are doing, that the uninsured andpoor always get at least emergency care, and the biggest delusion of all—that there is no politically achievable way to extend health insurance coverage to all Americans....
— Henry J. Aaron, The Brookings Institution
I could not put this book down! Every American should read it!!!!!
— Wayne Turnage, Deputy Chief of Staff for Virginia Governor Tim Kaine
Health care now accounts for one-sixth of the entire US economy, yet it is misunderstood by almost everyone. By challenging common myths about health care, Garson and Engelhard artfully help readers of all levels of expertise gain a far better appreciation of the strengths as well as the problems of our health care system....
— Stuart M. Butler, vice president for domestic policy, The Heritage Foundation