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Health Care Will Not Reform Itself

Author : George C. Halvorson

Publisher : CRC Press

Page : 186 pages

File Size : 48,70 MB

Release : 2009-05-27

Category : Business & Economics

ISBN : 1439837880

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Book Description

Health care reform is within our reach. According to George Halvorson, CEO of the nation's largest private health care plan, only by improving the intent, quality, and reach of services will we achieve a health system that is economically feasible into the future. This year, Americans will spend 2.5 trillion for health services that are poorly coordinated, inconsistent, and most typically focused on the belated care of chronic conditions. What we have to show for that expenditure is a nation that continues to become more obese, less healthy, and more depressed. In Health Care Will Not Reform Itself, Kaiser Permanente CEO George Halvorson proves beyond a doubt that the tragically inconsistent care that currently defines the state of U.S. health services is irresponsible, irrational, but more importantly, fixable. With detail that might shock you, he shows why the nonsystem we now use is failing. Then, applying the same sensible leadership that makes Kaiser the most progressive health care organization in the world, he answers President Obama’s mandate for reform with a profound incentive-based, system-supported, goal-focused, care-improvement plan. Halvorson draws from respected studies, including his own, and the examples of successful systems across the world to show that while good health care is expensive, it is nowhere near as costly as bad health care. To immediately curb care costs and bring us in line with President Obama's projected parameters, he recommends that we: Take a preventive approach to the chronic conditions that account for the lion’s share of medical costs Coordinate patient care through a full commitment to information technology Increase the pool of contributors by mandating universal insurance Rearrange priorities by making health maintenance profitable Convene a national committee to "figure out the right thing" and "make it easy to do" While this book offers sage advice to policy makers, it is also written to educate the 260 million stakeholders and invite their participation in the debate that is now shaping. What makes this plan so easy to understand and so compelling is that it never strays from a profound truth: that the best health system is one that actually focuses on good health for everyone. All royalties from the sale of this book go to Oakland Community Voices: Healthcare for the Underserved



Healthcare Beyond Reform

Author : Joe Flower

Publisher : CRC Press

Page : 297 pages

File Size : 33,67 MB

Release : 2012-04-24

Category : Medical

ISBN : 1466511214

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Book Description

There is a secret inside healthcare, and it’s this: We can do healthcare for a lot less money. The only way to do that is to do it a lot better. We know it’s possible because it is happening now. In pockets and branches across healthcare, people are receiving better healthcare for a lot less. Some employers, states, tribes, and health systems are doing healthcare a little differently. Healthcare Beyond Reform: Doing It Right for Half the Cost explains how this new kind of healthcare is not about rationing and cutbacks. It’s not about getting less, it’s about getting more. Getting better and friendlier healthcare, where you need it, when you need it. How? The answer is mostly not in Washington, it’s not conservative or liberal. The answer is mostly not about who pays for healthcare. The answer is mostly about who gets paid, and what we pay them for. Healthcare Beyond Reform: Doing It Right For Half The Cost shows you how the system works. It explains how we got here, why we pay so much more than anyone else, and why we don’t get what we pay for. You’ll learn the five things healthcare can do to turn this around. You will see what some employers are already doing to make that happen, and what patients, families, doctors, and anyone else who cares about healthcare can do to help make it happen. There are only five and we need all five. All of them can be done right now, with the current healthcare system as it is. Joe Flower shows you how. In 1980, healthcare took no more of a bite out of the U.S. economy than it did in other developed countries. By 2000, healthcare cost twice as much in the U.S. as in most other developed countries. We can change that. —Joe Flower Joe Flower explains how we can make healthcare better for a lot less. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKvvf5SIS4Y&feature=youtu.be



Health Care Reform

Author : Jonathan Gruber

Publisher : Macmillan

Page : 162 pages

File Size : 40,96 MB

Release : 2011-12-20

Category : Comics & Graphic Novels

ISBN : 0809094622

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Book Description

"A graphic explanation of the PPACA act"--Provided by publisher.



The Battle Over Health Care

Author : Rosemary Gibson

Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Page : 233 pages

File Size : 30,71 MB

Release : 2012-04-08

Category : Health & Fitness

ISBN : 1442214511

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Book Description

As the most substantial health care reform in almost half a century, President Obama's health care overhaul was as historic as it was divisive. In its aftermath, the debate continues. Drawing on decades of experience in health care policy, health care delivery reform, and economics, Rosemary Gibson and Janardan Prasad Singh provide a non-partisan analysis of the reform and what it means for America and its future. The authors shine a light on truths that have been hidden behind a raucous debate marred by political correctness on both sides of the aisle. They show how health care reform was enacted only with the consent of health insurance companies, drug firms, device manufacturers, hospitals, and other special interests that comprise the medical-industrial complex, which gained millions of new customers with the stroke of a pen. Health care businesses in a market-oriented system are designed to generate revenue, which runs counter to affordable health care. Gibson and Singh take a broader perspective on health care reform not as a single issue but as part of the economic life of the nation. The national debate unfolded while the banking and financial system teetered on the brink of collapse. The authors trace uncanny similarities between the health care industry and the unfettered banking and financial sector. They argue that a fast-changing global economy will have profound implications for the country's economic security and the jobs and health care benefits that come with it, and they predict that global competition will shape the future of employer-provided insurance more than the health care reform law.



Health Care Co-ops in Uganda

Author : George C. Halvorson

Publisher : The Permanente Journal

Page : 194 pages

File Size : 42,47 MB

Release : 2007

Category : Community health services

ISBN : 9780977046317

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Remedy and Reaction

Author : Paul Starr

Publisher : Yale University Press

Page : 452 pages

File Size : 11,11 MB

Release : 2013-06-04

Category : Political Science

ISBN : 0300206666

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Book Description

In no other country has health care served as such a volatile flashpoint of ideological conflict. America has endured a century of rancorous debate on health insurance, and despite the passage of legislation in 2010, the battle is not yet over. This book is a history of how and why the United States became so stubbornly different in health care, presented by an expert with unsurpassed knowledge of the issues. Tracing health-care reform from its beginnings to its current uncertain prospects, Paul Starr argues that the United States ensnared itself in a trap through policies that satisfied enough of the public and so enriched the health-care industry as to make the system difficult to change. He reveals the inside story of the rise and fall of the Clinton health plan in the early 1990sùand of the Gingrich counterrevolution that followed. And he explains the curious tale of how Mitt RomneyÆs reforms in Massachusetts became a model for Democrats and then follows both the passage of those reforms under Obama and the explosive reaction they elicited from conservatives. Writing concisely and with an even hand, the author offers exactly what is needed as the debate continuesùa penetrating account of how health care became such treacherous terrain in American politics.



Health Care Reform Now!

Author : George C. Halvorson

Publisher : Jossey-Bass

Page : 392 pages

File Size : 10,84 MB

Release : 2007-08-17

Category : Business & Economics

ISBN :

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Book Description

The United States spends more money on health care by far than any other country and yet nearly 50,000,000 Americans are uninsured at least part of the time each year. Health Care Reform Now! is written for anyone who cares enough about our health care situation to consider serious alternatives to the current system. In this book George Halvorson—an internationally known health care leader and author—offers a sensible approach to health care reform and universal coverage that can work for all stakeholders. Step by step, George Halvorson outlines a game plan for a truly world-class health care system that will appeal to policy makers on both ends of the political spectrum and will deliver health care with improved quality, better access, provider accountability, performance transparency, consumer choice, and individual empowerment. As readable as it is instructive, Health Care Reform Now! proposes a practical model that solves the unsolvable by identifying specific areas where health care performance can create better outcomes, better choices, and far better use of the health care dollar. Halvorson explains why "reform" itself needs to be a "product" rather than just a concept. He also explains why quick action is essential and how using the right tools—the focus on real costs and the use of real data and better caregiver support systems—can make universal coverage easy to administer, efficient, affordable, and "free" in three years—compared to what the total cost of care would be without universal coverage.



Inside National Health Reform

Author : John E. McDonough

Publisher : Univ of California Press

Page : 368 pages

File Size : 36,7 MB

Release : 2012-09-03

Category : Medical

ISBN : 0520274520

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Book Description

A guide to the Affordable Care Act, our new national health care law. An account of the process from the 2008 presidential campaign to the moment in 2010 when the bill was signed into law before anyone had a chance to digest the document. At a time when the nation is taking a second look at the ACA, "Inside National Health Reform" provides essential information for Americans to review the governmental processes and politics in enacting this legislation.



The Truth About Health Care

Author : David Mechanic

Publisher : Rutgers University Press

Page : 244 pages

File Size : 23,29 MB

Release : 2006-08-04

Category : Political Science

ISBN : 0813541158

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Book Description

The United States spends greatly more per person on health care than any other country but the evidence shows that care is often poor and inappropriate. Despite expenditures of 1.7 trillion dollars in 2003, and growing substantially each year, services remain fragmented and poorly coordinated, and more than 46 million people are uninsured. Why can't America, with its vast array of resources, sophisticated technologies, superior medical research and educational institutions, and talented health care professionals, produce higher quality care and better outcomes? In The Truth about Health Care, David Mechanic explains how health care in America has evolved in ways that favor a myriad of economic, professional, and political interests over those of patients. While money has always had a place in medical care, "big money" and the quest for profits has become dominant, making meaningful reforms difficult to achieve. Mechanic acknowledges that railing against these influences, which are here to stay, can achieve only so much. Instead, he asks whether it is possible to convert what is best about health care in America into a well functioning system that better serves the entire population. Bringing decades of experience as an active health policy participant, researcher, teacher, and consultant to the public and private sectors, Mechanic examines the strengths and weaknesses of our system and how it has evolved. He pays special attention to areas often neglected in policy discussions, such as the loss of public trust in medicine, the tragic state of long-term care, and the relationship of mental health to health care. For anyone who has been frustrated by uncoordinated health networks, insurance denials, and other obstacles to obtaining appropriate care, this book will provide a refreshing and frank look at the system's current and future dilemmas. Mechanic's thoughtful roadmap describes how health plans, healthcare professionals, policymakers, and consumer groups can work together to improve access, quality, fairness, and health outcomes in America. About the Author:



Catastrophic Care

Author : David Goldhill

Publisher : Vintage

Page : 386 pages

File Size : 37,18 MB

Release : 2013-01-08

Category : Medical

ISBN : 0307961559

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Book Description

A visionary investigation that will change the way we think about health care: how and why it is failing, why expanding coverage will actually make things worse, and how our health care can be transformed into a transparent, affordable, successful system. In 2007, David Goldhill’s father died from infections acquired in a hospital, one of more than two hundred thousand avoidable deaths per year caused by medical error. The bill was enormous—and Medicare paid it. These circumstances left Goldhill angry and determined to understand how world-class technology and personnel could coexist with such carelessness—and how a business that failed so miserably could be paid in full. Catastrophic Care is the eye-opening result. Blending personal anecdotes and extensive research, Goldhill presents us with cogent, biting analysis that challenges the basic preconceptions that have shaped our thinking for decades. Contrasting the Island of health care with the Mainland of our economy, he demonstrates that high costs, excess medicine, terrible service, and medical error are the inevitable consequences of our insurance-based system. He explains why policy efforts to fix these problems have invariably produced perverse results, and how the new Affordable Care Act is more likely to deepen than to solve these issues. Goldhill steps outside the incremental and wonkish debates to question the conventional wisdom blinding us to more fundamental issues. He proposes a comprehensive new way, where the customer (the patient) is first—a system focused on health and maintaining it, a system strong and vibrant enough for our future. If you think health care is interesting only to institutes and politicians, think again: Catastrophic Care is surprising, engaging, and brimming with insights born of questions nobody has thought to ask. Above all it is a book of new ideas that can transform the way we understand a subject we often take for granted.