Contents
Preface....................xi
Chapter I. Introduction....................13
Chapter II. Multinational Comparisons of Health Care Systems....................17
Chapter III. Health Care Systems in Different Countries....................28
Australia....................28
Canada....................33
Cuba....................38
England....................40
France....................48
Germany....................53
India....................58
Japan....................63
Norway....................70
Spain....................77
Sweden....................81
Conclusions about the health care systems in the countries considered....................87
Chapter IV. The American Health Care System....................88
General information....................88
Other statistics....................89
Health care system....................89
A little history....................92
Medicare, Medicaid, the VHA, and SCHIP....................94
Doctors, hospitals and clinics....................106
Faith-based and private institutions....................107
Challenges....................107
Chapter V. Problems and Issues Related to the American Health Care System....................108
The effect of rising health care costs....................112
Bureaucracy and paperwork....................116
Fragmentation and eligibility inefficiencies in entitlement programs....................119
Fraud and abuse in entitlement programs....................122
Prescription drugs PART D for seniors and the disabled....................124
Advertising and drug companies....................129
Lobbyists and theirinfluence on officials and legislators....................136
Health insurance industry and insurance policies....................139
Bankruptcies....................143
Doctors, lawyers, and malpractice lawsuits....................144
Other problems, issues, and mistakes made in the delivery of health care....................148
The role and use of information technology....................150
Myths and misconceptions....................151
The cost of competition....................156
Chapter VI. Different Approaches to Health Care Reform....................159
Secretary George Shultz's approach to health care reform....................159
Senator McCain's Health System Reform....................160
Critical comments on the Shultz-Shoven and McCain Reform Proposals....................163
Massachusetts Health Care Reform Plan....................164
Key questions about the Massachusetts Plan and its deficiencies....................165
California's universal health care bill SB 840....................167
Critical comments on California's universal health care bill....................170
The Schwarzenegger-Nuñez Plan for California....................171
Flaws in the Schwarzenegger-Nuñez Health Care Plan....................173
Senator Tom Daschle's health care proposals....................173
Critical comments about Daschle's health care proposals....................176
Senator Clinton's Universal Health Care Choices plan....................177
Senator Barack Obama's plan....................180
Some discussion on, and solutions for, the Clinton and Obama plans....................183
Closing comments on the health care plans discussed above....................185
Chapter VII. Cost Effective Solutions to the American Health Care System....................188
Recommendations....................188
Prevention and regular physical examination reduce the cost of health care (especially for people over forty years of age)....................193
OECD guidelines for action....................197
Evolving concepts of universal health care in the United States....................200
Additional recommendations....................203
American infant mortality is a disgrace for a rich country-but the solution is there....................203
Role of information technology (IT) and outsourcing....................204
Web-based, cost effective, medical solutions....................204
Medical tourism can assist in cost cutting....................206
Biotech in emerging countries can help to cut costs....................215
Alternative Medicine....................216
Issues necessary to cut the cost of health care and make it efficient....................217
Fragmented federal and state entitlement programs....................217
Politicians and lobbyists....................218
Health insurance industry and insurance policies....................218
Cost of prescription drugs and their hyped advertisement....................219
Cost of malpractice lawsuits and insurance....................221
Chapter VIII. Conclusions....................223
Some questions to ask in the search for a solution....................224
Action needed....................225
The task ahead....................226
Closing comment....................227
Epilogue....................231
Reference Notes....................237
Solving The American Health Care Crisis
