pre-order today!

Warning: non-bike related post.

Pre-order today the hottest book on health care reform on the market! Now I realize that release date isn't until October 15th-- but you will want it in your hands on October 15th, so you can read it a few times before the November presidential election and get super-educated on what the candidate's proposals should be, but aren't. [sigh.]

For a little background, this is a book for which i did all the research and editing the last couple of years. I also made all the non-nonsensical diagrams and flow charts in the book, that are supposed to make things more comprehensible (but that is questionable). Perhaps I wrote a few paragraphs or sentences here or there as well; however, those sentences might not be as entertaining as my blog. You can find my name in the "acknowledgments" section, along with a couple sentences which I still don't completely understand, which includes the verb: "eviscerate."

For a little background on the content, this book sidesteps the normal health care reform debate (single-payer government-run like Canada vs. employer-based like in the U.S., etc.) -- instead asking the question: if we were to just wave a wand and everyone had health insurance, would the system operate how we would want? would quality be high? would patient preferences be met? would providers be satisfied? The answer to all these questions is a simple "no." The system, as it currently operates, is broken, inefficient, and undesirable to many parties. Simply expanding what-is, is not an adequate solution. In addition to looking at how to "expand coverage" to the uninsured, this book explores specific ways in which to transform the current system for everyone by changing economic incentives to providers, insurance companies, and physicians. If you like economics and/or are interested in health care financing, this book will be especially interesting. If not, well, I still think this will be a very interesting read-- as it explores some of the fundamental reasons why things aren't functioning and explores out-of-the-box solutions. Also, you can see all the bad jokes and analogies my boss kept in the text, that I desperately tried to edit out on our 1000 revisions. Who knows, maybe you will find them funny. In addition to looking at the organization and financing of the health system, the end of the book has brief sections on malpractice, pharmaceuticals, medical education, and public health/prevention. Some might argue this book is unrealistic and a far-fetched reform proposal. (However, good ideas only stem from broad-thinking, and I believe there is enough in this book that takes into account the many special interest groups, that things could surprisingly work.) Moreover, considering around 25% of Americans are insured by either Medicare or Medicaid, payment reform on the federal level can have a huge impact across the system that can affect delivery.

Well, that was my long plug. Please pre-order. And if you don't, please pick up a copy in October! And I would be more than excited to talk health care with anyone this fall. I will also autograph any copies, right next to figure 5.1.