Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 216
Trim: 6¼ x 9¼
978-1-4422-2297-7 • Hardback • July 2013 • $60.00 • (£46.00)
978-1-4422-2298-4 • eBook • July 2013 • $57.00 • (£44.00)
Roberta E. Winter, MHA, MPA, has been president of her own health care consulting firm, Praevalere Inc., since 1996. In addition to her blog under the trade name, healthpolicymaven, she reviews health and public policy books for the New York Journal of Books, and performs research and policy analysis for health care initiatives.
Introduction (Prologue)
Part 1 United States Health Care Overview
1.The Truth About U.S. Health Care
2.Why U.S. Health Care is So Expensive
3.Evidence-Based Planning— What It Means and Why You Should Care
4.Quality and Cost or How the United States Compares With Other Countries
Part 2 Health Care Quality—Know Where To Go
5.Quality Indicators— Best Hospitals for Patient Safety
6.Critical Care—U.S. Hospitals With Level I Trauma Centers
7.Patient Safety—Who Reports Hospital Errors
Part 3 Resourcing Your Health Care
8.Surgical Tips—When You Have to Go Under the Knife
9.How to Get Medical Treatment in the United States Without Health Insurance
10.Medical Tourism—Getting Health Care Outside the United States
11.Health Care for Visitors to the United States
12.Naturopathic and Alternative Health Care in America— Who Regulates It
13.Health Care Reforms—A Consumer Perspective
14.When It’s Terminal—How to Die Well
15.What You Need to Know Before Your Medicare Election
16.Insurance 101
Part 4 Health Measures— Regional and State Results
17.Women’s Health Care—The Best and the Worst in the United States
18.Men’s Health Care—The Best and the Worst in the United States
19.Children’s Health Care—The Best and Worst in the United States
20.Strategies for Reducing the Cost of Health Care in the United States
Epilogue
Appendix for the Informed Health Care Purchaser
Acknowledgments
Bibliography
Guaranteed access to basic health care continues to fuel debate across the United States. As politicians and insurance providers struggle for a workable solution, the American population continues to be divided between the insured and uninsured—the “haves” and the “have-nots.” Despite this distinction, however, all would benefit from knowing exactly what health-care options are available. Winter, an independent consultant, has successfully crafted a guide that is entirely consumer focused. Whereas Nortin M. Hadler’s Citizen Patient: Reforming Health Care for the Sake of the Patient, Not the System is an authority for health-care providers and policymakers, Winter’s work is written in a style that is understandable to the general public. It aims to educate consumers of American health care, providing relevant information and offering sound solutions, thereby reducing costs in the long run. Statistics and facts serve to debunk health-care myths; plentiful citations represent current data. The result is a well-documented road map addressing issues that range from consumers who lack health insurance to those engaging in medical tourism. Lists of suggested care units by state are consistent with the book’s consumer focus. VERDICT Highly recommended for anyone who seeks quality health care and for those who are serious about improving the current system.
— Library Journal
Unraveling U.S. Health Care affords the reader a wealth of timely and useful information with pertinent facts to back up the positions taken by the author. Roberta Winter’s contribution to the health care literature is noteworthy and will serve Americans well in facilitating a better understanding of the limitations of our system of health care as well as the opportunities we as individuals have to make it work for us.
— Aaron Liberman, Ph.D., LHRM, professor of health services administration, University of Central Florida
Roberta Winter has done a considerable public service for anyone seeking health care in America. Her book, Unraveling U.S. Health Care, provides a comprehensive, readable and extremely practical guide to all aspects of the quality and cost of health care across the country. Winter’s research is methodical, her writing is a delight to read, and the book fills a major gap for health care users in the U.S.
— Mark Henaghan, dean of University of Otago Faculty of Law, Dunedin, New Zealand
Unraveling U.S. Health Care is a valuable asset to any interested party trying to navigate our complex health care system. Roberta Winter’s thorough research and contemporary data contribute greatly to understanding the many complexities of health care delivery in the U.S. and no doubt provides a unique resource for those who are looking for answers. I was pleasantly surprised to find Winter’s tone to be relatively neutral (a rarity in this ideologically driven debate) and her writing style easy to follow and entertaining.
— Jeffrey M. Lobosky, author of It's Enough to Make You Sick
Finally, a lucid journey inside the intentionally murky world of U.S. health care... with some very bright ideas for how to make it work. Reading this book may literally save your life.
— Robert Young Pelton, author, The World's Most Dangerous Places