Frοm Publishers WeeklyWashington Post correspondent Reid (Thе United States οf Europe) explores shape-care systems around thе world іn аn try tο know whу thе U.S. remains thе οnlу first world nation tο refuse іtѕ citizens complete shape care. Nеіthеr financial prudence nοr concern fοr thе commonweal сlаrіfіеѕ thе American position, according tο Reid, whose findings reveal thаt thе U.S. nοt οnlу spends more cash οn shape care thаn аnу οthеr nation bυt аlѕο leaves 45 milli…
Bυу Thе Healing οf America: A Global Quest fοr Better, Cheaper, аnd Fairer Shape Care аt Amazon
I bought this book after reading Jacob Weisberg’s review in Newsweek. It is the best thing on the theme for the following reasons: 1. It is well written even amusing in places. 2. It is very informative. 3. It presents comparative data both as to shape outcomes and also ways of paying for shape care 4. It is non-partisan, even though by the end one wonders why we Americans are paying so much for shape outcomes that are really worse than any comparable country. 5. It is revealing as to the complexity of the US; for model, I didn’t know that as many as 80 million Americans are already covered by systems nearly identical to the British or Canadian, i.e. medicaid, medicare, military, veterans and Department of Indian Affairs – who would have thought that? But 45 million others are not covered at all. Everyone else is covered, more or less, by insurance and so are the Germans, French and Japanese etc. But what a difference in the insurance systems! In the other countries you get insurance just like here EXCEPT THAT 1. you cannot be denied 2. you cannot be cancelled 3. everyone is covered and 4. your premiums are regulated by government which of course is what the entire debate is about. Because here the insurance industry is for profit and the premiums reflect that fact, the incredible fact that US shape is the USA’s largest industry by far, larger that the State of California, four times larger that the military, in fact US shape would be the world’s 8th largest country. No wonder the debate is so fierce. This brilliant books set it all out readably and comprehensively.
I am a nursing student. I returned to college after 20 years in hospitality and project management in order to realize my dream of a career focused not on cash but on providing care to the most vulnerable. One unsettling pattern has cropped up in my education- the emphasis (when studying the importance of avoiding potentially life threatening errors) placed more on avoiding liability than on the well-being of the uncomplaining (or “client” as we are now educated, in this cash-driven society). It also strikes me that I have never heard it suggested that a shape care professional should be painstaking in her work in order to prevent avoidable errors that would bring dishonor to herself or her profession. The focus is on avoiding “costly” errors.
This is where Mr. Reid’s book is a most welcome addition to the exchange on shape care in America. He shows us that it is possible to have an brilliant shape care system that is focused on the well-being of the uncomplaining and not the all-mighty dollar. He also breaks down a intricate theme into an enjoyable reading experience, with prose that is clear and intelligent and often humorous.
I find it extremely disappointing that so many Americans blindly buy into the myths about the “poor” shape care available in other rich, developed nations (every one of which, with the sole exception of the U.S., provide complete shape care) while touting mistaken grandiose statements about the superiority of American medicine.
Mr. Reid clarifies the reality of the better and cheaper shape care systems of nations like Switzerland and Japan in stipulations (to paraphrase Thomas Jefferson) “so plain and firm as to command their assent.” He also introduces us to shape care professionals who are driven not by monetary motives but by a question to heal and prevent illness.
If you believe that access to shape care (note, I did not say free shape care) is a basic human right, then buy this book. Really, if you are simply interested in learning the honest facts on the impose a curfew- buy this book.
I can’t vouch for the accuracy of all of Reid’s accounts, but as an American expat who lived in Germany and the UK for a total of 28 years, I can confirm that his descriptions of the shape care systems in those two countries are both accurate and honest.
The timing of this book is uncanny. Everyone who cares one whit about shape care in the US should read it… and LISTEN to what it has to tell us.