10 Excellent Reasons for National Health Care

by Mary E. O'Brien (Editor), Martha Livingston (Editor)

The United States spends twice as much as other industrialized nations on health care, yet our system performs poorly in comparison and still leaves 46 million without health coverage and millions more inadequately covered.

Imagine a health care program that is publicly funded and covers all basic medical services from doctor visits, hospitalization, and long-term care to prescription drugs, dental care, and mental health. 10 Excellent Reasons for National Health Care offers an array of powerful arguments for why and how this could become a reality. With fact-filled chapters written by leading physicians, health care professionals, policy makers, business-people, labor organizers, and others, this book shows how a national health care system is simpler, more inclusive, saves money, is good for business, will reduce health care disparities, and is a fundamental human right.

In time for the 2008 elections and following on the heels of Michael Moore's Sicko , 10 Excellent Reasons for National Health Care offers powerful ammunition in favor of a fundamental change to American health care―and shows how we really can develop a comprehensive national health program for the United States.

Genres: Politics

158 pages, Paperback

First published August 19, 2008

Reviews

[Lori]

This book is in plain language which makes its accessibility wider, but the arguments lacked details that would interest anyone who works in healthcare. They do a good job detailing why private health insurance for all (as proposed by most politicians) will not work. It also serves as a wake up call to lay people who might think the U.S. has the best healthcare in the world. We actually rank in the 20's and 30's in the world on most measured parameters of quality healthcare. Overall, I would recommend all voting Americans read this little book.

[Jamie Speka]

A short little book worth the read. Definitely outdated, but that is never a reason not to read something as it gives further context for today's society.

This taught me a lot I didn't know (or have not had to know) about the American healthcare system. I've heard arguments saying that it's not insurance companies responsible for keeping Americans from health care, but this book proves exactly why that's a ridiculous statement. Healthcare companies actively try to push people away from receiving the care they need so that they don't have to pay for it, it's that simple. They also are responsible for America having the most expensive healthcare system in the world using 16% of the GDP for care that isn't even universal as opposed to the 11% of GDP in the UK for socialized medicine, and 10% in Canada for single-payer.

Businesses are also well-placed to support single-payer health care. Of course, if they don't have to pay for it, they can perform better in the world market with money that doesn't have to go to cover employees' health care. Instead, they've opted to cut health care benefits from their employees attributing to the rising rates of people having to pay higher co-pays. Advocating for the economic benefit is a beneficial way to frame the healthcare debate in today's society--despite the book arguing against this method. I understand the argument - by framing it as a debate on how health care impacts businesses, we neglect who American health care is actually impacting, which is workers. Still, the US is notorious for not giving a shit about workers while they care far too much about businesses - big businesses. So appealing to them could change the tides. HOWEVER, it's corporations who really have a say. When it comes to the proposition of enforcing higher taxes on billionaires - which nationalized health care likely will - they'll put their greedy, beefy foot down. As they do with everything.

There are other solutions. The General Accounting Office has testified that the US could insure everyone for the amount of money we're currently spending on healthcare. Meaning, it wouldn't necessarily mean more taxes (though it probably should). Even if we do continue to bump up taxes for the workers rather than the billionaires (an alternative that the US relies on), then the cost will likely end up as less than you're actually paying per year in a whole as a small percentage of taxes will be less than a large chunk of money for insurance each year.

OR, find money in the ridiculous military budget that the country has.

The US is faced with worse care, overworked nurses, doctors' who are incentivized by insurance companies to see patients as numbers rather than people. Transitioning to a single-payer system would change this. Then, perhaps on the horizon, socialized medicine won't be too far off.

-1 star, I found myself asking 'But why?' in some chapters without an explanation. I also think it painted Andrew Stern's ideas as negative way too quickly. They mechanized the argument that his idea is poor because he isn't thinking about the people, but the businesses first. I agree that it should be about thinking of people first; yet, the American system needs a compromise in order to get some of these ideas discussed and unfortunately appeasing businesses is a way to do that. Stern may have been playing up the big business argument, with alternative motives that are grounded by the people view.

Notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1k...

[Javier Anderson]

While I'm sure there are more than 10 Excellent Reasons or National Health Care in the United States of America, this book doesn't have them. Its more of a moralizing screed which improves as it goes along. Frustratingly, it foes little to activate people in terms of what each individual can do to help the cause in any material way. Dated as it is, it offers some important insights into the Health Care system circa late-2007. It does presciently foretell what would happen if something similar to the ACA (aka Obamacare) were passed. But given that it tries to persuade people on the moral arguments (as if that were the issue) rings especially hollow. What is needed is leadership and competency on this issue. As of yet, it appears there is still none to be had, Sen. Sanders excepted.

[~Cyanide Latte~]

While I do feel there is value in reading an outdated book like this one, I feel like in many ways this misses the mark. For those of us already wanting to see a form of universal healthcare in the United States, it doesn't offer much insight that hasn't been available for a while by now, and it certainly doesn't offer practical suggestions towards activism to see healthcare and health insurance reform, as other reviewers before me have already mentioned. I think where this book exists best is in the space for readers who have either been on the fence about this subject for years, or have grown disillusioned with the system we have but aren't fully aware of a better alternative. I think this book is for those people, to help them to understand what many of us have been saying for years.

[Rachel]

Not a bestseller, but everyone should read this.

[Kristen]

Politics and Prose (a local bookstore here) just sent out a newsletter with the following review of this book. Sounds like a must-read for all my public health ladies and an interesting read for everyone that is interested in health care for all.

*****

At Barbara’s invitation, Harvey Fernbach, a long-time customer and seasoned health-care policy wonk, has written a review of 10 EXCELLENT REASONS FOR NATIONAL HEALTH CARE (Norton, $13.95), by Mary O’Brien.

Cutting through the malarkey of the health care reform debate is a wonderful, compact, and succinct book, 10 Excellent Reasons for National Health Care, edited by Mary E. O'Brien MD and Martha Livingston PH.D with a forward by Rep. John Conyers.

Each of its carefully and intelligently written chapters makes the case for a government-funded private health care system that gives lifetime comprehensive coverage to all Americans. It replaces the failed and disastrously flawed for- profit insurance system.

The excellent reasons are authored by physicians, a nurse, a major union leader, an economist, and a representative of the faith community. Supportive documentation is provided.

The book is about providing health care, not health insurance. This distinction relates to the routinely neglected obvious fact that the sick/injured want first and foremost access to a practitioner of choice that is affordable. The insurance part is simply solved by expanding and improving on the concept of Medicare. Rep. Conyers and 91 co-sponsors have introduced HR 676 which establishes this "single payer" system. It has achieved wide national support.

At $13.95, this marvelous book will immediately give the reader the clarity to understand the health care system’s problems and their best solution for less than one insurance co-pay!

Harvey Fernbach MD MPH
Physicians for a National Health Program
(Washington DC chapter)