The Untold Story of Americas Health Care - Book Report/Review Example

 The Untold Story of America’s Health Care Introduction The Paper reviews the book Sick by Jonathan Cohn as it explains the penetrating work of reportage that concerns the failure of America’s medical system. It is illustrated as witnessed through the stories that is narrated by people who became the deliverers of current health care revolution and those who have suffered from it. It is revealed in his book by saying that in a booming suburb located outside of Austin, Texas. The episode portrays a mother fighting with the insurance company with a quest to enable her disabled young child get therapy in a futuristic approach that will allow her learn to walk. Also in Prairie heartland, are determined to put her house on sale yet it is the only way he can pay for the medication that keeps him and his aging wife alive. The book furthermore, reveals in Catskill Mountains, a man whose job stopped by providing healthcare to his wife as the health insurance watches her die from a cancer that went undetected for too long. The paper reports how the book has revealed the challenge of the heath care in the United States and how effectively it has communicated the same to many for the betterment of the health of the Americans (Jonathan). Development Jonathan Cohn which for a long time has been the editor at the New Republic, in his book, “Sick” shows how financing medical care in America helps to determine who gets proper medical care and who doesn’t. This is illustrated in his story through the experiences of the ordinary people like Cynthia Kline, who is an old teacher in Cambridge aged 55 years who had chest pain and knew from her past experience that she had heart attack. After phoning 911 and telling the paramedics to take her to Mount Auburn Hospital, a hospital recognized for its intensive cardiac care unit they find that the emergency room is full, and she is taken to another facility (Jonathan). The second service fails to attend her and two and half hours after dialing 911; Cynthia Kline dies. This true story shows the vast drama of a failing system since the overcrowding in health care facilities according to most experts, is simply a symptom of other systematic problems currently affecting the medical care. The health care system of the United Stated of America, one of the few developed countries in the world has been a unique problem since it does not guarantee access to medical care as a right of citizenship. It is reviewed by Jonathan book when he describes how millions of Americans find themselves in a scary position as they struggle to find to find affordable and reliable services in the medical field for themselves and their families. It has resulted from collapsing of the American healthcare system which may lead to a problem getting even worse unless someone decides to build a new system in its place otherwise millions of more Americans will suffer. The book also tries to combine the real life situation stories of ordinary people across the country with original reporting from Washington (Jonathan). It explains why this transformation is taking place and the consequences that could someday befall all of the Americans as a result of it. The sick which is passionate, illuminating and often devastating book, interweaves these stories with clear-eyed reporting from Washington. It analyzed the medical industry to chronicle the decline of Americans health care system and lays the consequences any one of the Americans could suffer if it is not replaced. Jonathan makes a plea for universal coverage with a single-payer system regulated by government. He describes how private insurers decide who and decides who and what they will and will not cover, this has resulted in more struggle of ordinary Americans who are not covered by the insurance. The rising health care costs has also led to corporations seek ways to deny coverage to employees, such as hiring full-time workers or independent contractors without health insurance (Jonathan). Through his book he reveals precisely that, managed care initially had provision for better health goal and made health care affordable to all but nowadays it is controlled by for-profit companies that take up te duty of making money rather than preventing and easing sickness. As a serious discussion of universal health care takes place in United States, Jonathan argues that medicine and universal health care in some countries like France, are far much superior to the system most Americans face. Cohn says the medical health care in United States is connected to the politics and economics that control the system. It is because, in his story, there is shrinking employer-based insurance, private insurance, Medicaid, the uninsured and disappearing retiree insurance. From the above America needs to come up with other ways to improve the health care of its people before the situation becomes worse. As the author says, universal care deserves a fresh look before comparing the United States system to those of other industrialized countries (Jonathan). As the author says, “from the downsizing of institutions that are less profitable providing health care services which include the psychiatric patient rooms, to the swelling ranks of the people that have no access to health insurance. They are untreatable chronic conditions that are more likely to become serious medical crises.” According to the author, the book Sick, is his tour across the country. Through his tour, he has encountered many health care problems in the country that need urgent attention to enhance the well-being of the people. Some of the health problems he has come across is how a former nun in Chicago told him how she tried but failed to obtain charity care at a catholic hospital.In addition, a self-employed woman in Delta, Fla, fell prey to un-insurance scam (Jonathan). Though out his book has shown the hopeless fragmentation of the mental health system, staggering medical debt; the dependence on the job based insurance, and lack of medication is a significant problem, especially for the mentally ill. The book is more than the accumulation that come from crises. It also comes up as an edifying primer on how we get there. He focused on development arcs of key institutions, like private insurance, managed care, religious hospitals and corporate health care. The Sick does not provide a prescription for the American ailing health care system, but it includes a closing chapter on what to do. Although the book talks on most medical crises and through his book the problems can be addressed, but also the author is somehow unfair. This results when he denounces “the principles of modern conservation” for being short on comfort and hope. There is nothing pessimistic in choice, self-reliance in the plan. The employees would no longer be willing to provide for the insurance and would instead convert those costs into a bigger paycheck and this will enable workers buy private insurance from providers and this will result to competition leading to offer better plans (Jonathan). Also, his brief description of a better health care in French as compared to the United States does not give enough details and only a fraction of its contents to fraction. The book also fails to answer some of the fundamental questions about should the country make the private cooperation’s work better or increase government involvement? Should the country prefer spending the entire system or should concentrate on creating conditions that are free to innovate on their own? These questions are critical to the issue of health care reform in America, but unfortunately Cohn does not adequately address them. The book does not adequately implement the entire range which leads to much poor healths in the country. Does not involve one’s diet or exercising, drinking to excess or smoking but his her victims are in every instant hardworking and people blocked at every turn by a dysfunctional system. His story does not represent indicative, but it shows the problems faced by the public when they require medical care that surpasses their ability to pay for it. Although the book generally has highlighted many issue that has led to inadequate health care in the US and some of the critical areas that need faster and efficient attention, some of the drawbacks above of the book need to be addressed to make the book more realistic and practical (Jonathan). The health care needs to be addressed from all the angles to ensure it is adequately dealt with since it should start from an individual all the way to the government. Conclusion The above is a review of the way the author Jonathan Cohn writes the book “Sick” trying to highlight one of the major problem in United States of medical health care. It has shown how several individuals have been affected by the inappropriate medical health care systems and advised on reforming the systems to enhance better health care in the country. Though it does not cover all the areas as per as health care is concerned, if its drawbacks as highlighted in the paper are resolved then it can be of help to the country and as well its people. Works cited Jonathan Cohn: Sick, The Untold Story of America’s Health Care Crisis and the People who pay the Price. 2007 Read More