First published 2014
America's health care system employs more people than any other industry while draining federal budgets and threatening to bankrupt entire states. Individual citizens face crushing financial anxiety from medical costs, yet most people cannot navigate the system's bewildering complexity. Emanuel examines why American health care developed its current structure, including the dominance of hospitals, and identifies five core problems that sabotage reform efforts. Five presidents promised universal coverage and failed. Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Truman, Kennedy, and Nixon all met defeat when they attempted comprehensive change. The Affordable Care Act broke this pattern of failure against fierce political opposition. Emanuel draws on his insider knowledge to explain how the ACA overcame obstacles that stopped previous presidents. He analyzes the law's specific design choices and explores the American Medical Association's political influence throughout the reform process. The book projects how the ACA will reshape American medicine and identifies areas where additional reforms will prove necessary.
Genres: business, american, economics, health, history-of-medicine, 21st-century, academic, american-history
Vibes: thought-provoking
Tropes: insider-knowledge
Period: 19th-century, 20th-century, 21st-century
380 pages · Hardcover · PublicAffairs