Health Care Half-Truths

Too Many Myths, Not Enough Reality

Arthur Garson Jr., Carolyn L. Engelhard

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Year: 2007
• eBook ISBN: 9798216322924
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Health Care Delivery

Are you tired of hearing that the American health care 'system' is broken? Well, it is. You can't understand your bill-or pay it; you wait an hour before seeing the doctor for ten minutes; and that was your child who was just laid off, and whose family has no health insurance. Health Care Half-Truths shows the ways in which American health care is tarnished and ways in which it shines, explaining that if we are going to make our health care system work for us we must begin with a common set of information. Unfortunately, our current information comes from sound bites that on their surface seem perfectly reasonable, but on closer examination are wrong. Health Care Half-Truths untangles the misinformation, misperceptions, and confusion that have confounded the American public and our elected officials. Dr. Arthur Garson identifies twenty myths about the U.S. health care system and uses his extensive knowledge and keen insights to blow them apart.

Table of contents

• CONTENTS
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• Part I. OUR COUNTRY AND THE WORLD
• Chapter 01. MYTH: AMERICAN MEDICAL CARE IS SECOND-RATE COMPARED WITH OTHER COUNTRIES
• Chapter 2. MYTH: AMERICAN HEALTH CARE IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE IN THE WORLD
• Part II. COST: THE MYTHS OFEXPENSIVE CARE
• Chapter 3. MYTH: AMERICA WASTES ONE-HALF OF ITS MEDICAL CARE DOLLARS
• Chapter 04. MYTH: MOST MEDICAL CARE DOLLARS ARE SPENT IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS OF LIFE
• Chapter 05. MYTH: BETTER QUALITY SAVES MONEY
• Chapter 06. MYTH: PREVENTIVE CARE SAVES MONEY
• Chapter 07. MYTH: AMERICA WILL NOT RATION HEALTH CARE
• Part III. QUALITY: THE MYTHS OF GOOD CARE
• Chapter 08. MYTH: SCIENCE DRIVES MOST MEDICAL DECISIONS
• Chapter 09. MYTH: HIGH QUALITY CARE CANNOT BE DEFINED
• Chapter 10. MYTH: CONSUMERS CAN MAKE THE BEST DECISIONS ABOUT THEIR MEDICAL CARE
• Chapter 11. MYTH: FEWER DOCTORS WILL BE NEEDED AS MEDICINE CHANGES
• Chapter 12. MYTH: THE CURRENT MALPRACTICE SYSTEM HELPS PATIENTS
• Chapter 13. MYTH: MANAGING CARE IS EVIL
• Part IV. COVERAGE: THE MYTHS OF INSURANCE, UNDERINSURANCE, AND UNINSURANCE
• Chapter 14. MYTH: IN AMERICA, THERE IS A “SAFETY NET” OF GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS PROVIDING HEALTH CARE FOR THE POOR
• Chapter 15. MYTH: PEOPLE WHO WORK CAN AFFORD HEALTH INSURANCE
• Chapter 16. MYTH: PROVISION OF HEALTH INSURANCE FOR EMPLOYEES HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE EMPLOYER’S RESPONSIBILITY, AND WILL CONTINUE THAT WAY
• Chapter 17. MYTH:THE UNINSURED GET THE CARE THEY NEED IN EMERGENCY ROOMS
• Chapter 18. MYTH: NO ADDITIONAL FUNDING IS NEEDED TO COVERTHE UNINSURED; THE MONEY IS AVAILABLE IN THE SYSTEM
• Part V. THE FUTURE
• Chapter 19. MYTH: ALL OTHER DEVELOPED COUNTRIES PROVIDE HEALTH CARE COVERAGE FOR EVERYONE; WE SHOULD BE NO DIFFERENT
• Chapter 20. MYTH: MAJOR CHANGE IN THE AMERICAN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM IS IMPOSSIBLE
• AFTERWORD
• SOURCES FOR THE FACTS AND FURTHER READING
• INDEX
• ABOUT THE AUTHORS