Crisis in US Health Care: Corporate Power vs. The Common Good
John Geyman is a family practitioner and administrator who has experienced first-hand the transformation of the US health care system into an immensely wasteful and corrupt health care industry. Though Obamacare has extended coverage, it has also propelled profiteering, contributing “to the medical profession’s loss of its moral compass”. Supposed savings have been soaked up by executives and owners. Privatization has meant perverse incentives, replacing the medical ethic of compassionate care by profits at the expense of the poorest and sickest.
This book is an up-to-date and readable overview of how the health care industry actually works, set against the backdrop Dr. Geyman’s personal journey over the last half century, from a classical family practice in the mountains of northern California, to leadership of the University of Washington Department of Family Medicine, to a retirement of investigation, reflection, and writing. Other books dive more deeply into the politics and scandals, but I suggest starting here.
The US has the best health care in the world for those who can pay for it, yet by far the worst health care system of any developed nation. We spend twice as much per person with poorer overall outcomes. Like most other medical reformers, Geyman recommends improving Medicare and making it universal (“Medicare for All”), with the US citizenry pocketing the savings. Both professionals and patients will be a lot happier.