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melannrosenthal 's review for:
An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back
by Elisabeth Rosenthal
After reading Elizabeth Rosenthal’s (no relation) book on the business of healthcare, so much I already theorized about the industry from my own personal experience was proved correct.
One of many things that really gets me is how an increased incidence of Medicare coverage of MRIs in an Arizona hospital was clearly predicated by a group of radiologists specializing in MRIs moving in. They had to conduct research and manipulated the service being provided in order to do so. In almost any other line of work, this would get you fired. For example, I have worked in administration for my whole career and though if given the choice I’d rather spend all of my time leisurely reading of writing, I am not exactly getting paid to do whatever I’d prefer. It baffles me that there isn’t more oversight especially on tests like MRIs which, no matter where you are in the country, will cost someone (your insurer of not you) thousands and thousands of dollars.
Additionally, she blatantly says “we’re numb to statistics about medical debt being the single biggest cause of bankruptcy in the United States. When Americans talk about their battles with cancer or another serious disease, they often focus on not pain, fatigue, hair loss, and the odds of five-year survival, but on bills. We hate our healthcare system. And yet we’ve come to accept is as an inevitable burden of being American. But we patients have allowed this heist of our healthcare by commercial forces. More precisely, we didn’t see it happening.”
No more. Educate yourself not just to be your own or your family’s best advocate, that’s a given, but read books like this one, ask why when confronted with high costs and zero reasoning and always always always demand itemized billing. Demand human treatment. Currently it is costing us our livelihoods to save our lives. One might say it’s not worth it and they’d be right. There are more of us. Just because we don’t have the power right now doesn’t mean we can’t one day call the shots. But we have to know NOW how little the system is serving us so we can begin striving towards establishing one that has to answer to all of us and not just fill the pockets of board members and investors et al.
One of many things that really gets me is how an increased incidence of Medicare coverage of MRIs in an Arizona hospital was clearly predicated by a group of radiologists specializing in MRIs moving in. They had to conduct research and manipulated the service being provided in order to do so. In almost any other line of work, this would get you fired. For example, I have worked in administration for my whole career and though if given the choice I’d rather spend all of my time leisurely reading of writing, I am not exactly getting paid to do whatever I’d prefer. It baffles me that there isn’t more oversight especially on tests like MRIs which, no matter where you are in the country, will cost someone (your insurer of not you) thousands and thousands of dollars.
Additionally, she blatantly says “we’re numb to statistics about medical debt being the single biggest cause of bankruptcy in the United States. When Americans talk about their battles with cancer or another serious disease, they often focus on not pain, fatigue, hair loss, and the odds of five-year survival, but on bills. We hate our healthcare system. And yet we’ve come to accept is as an inevitable burden of being American. But we patients have allowed this heist of our healthcare by commercial forces. More precisely, we didn’t see it happening.”
No more. Educate yourself not just to be your own or your family’s best advocate, that’s a given, but read books like this one, ask why when confronted with high costs and zero reasoning and always always always demand itemized billing. Demand human treatment. Currently it is costing us our livelihoods to save our lives. One might say it’s not worth it and they’d be right. There are more of us. Just because we don’t have the power right now doesn’t mean we can’t one day call the shots. But we have to know NOW how little the system is serving us so we can begin striving towards establishing one that has to answer to all of us and not just fill the pockets of board members and investors et al.