
An American Sickness
How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back
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Narrated by:
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Nancy Linari
About this listen
Award-winning New York Times reporter Dr. Elisabeth Rosenthal reveals the dangerous, expensive, and dysfunctional American health-care system and tells us exactly what we can do to solve its myriad of problems.
It is well documented that our health-care system has grave problems, but how, in only a matter of decades, did things get this bad? Dr. Elisabeth Rosenthal doesn't just explain the symptoms; she diagnoses and treats the disease itself. Rosenthal spells out in clear and practical terms exactly how to decode medical doublespeak, avoid the pitfalls of the pharmaceuticals racket, and get the care you and your family deserve. She takes you inside the doctor-patient relationship, explaining step by step the workings of a profession sorely lacking transparency. This is about what we can do, as individual patients, both to navigate a byzantine system and also to demand far-reaching reform.
Breaking down the monolithic business into its individual industries - the hospitals, doctors, insurance companies, drug manufacturers - that together constitute our health-care system, Rosenthal tells the story of the history of American medicine as never before. The situation is far worse than we think, and it has become like that much more recently than we realize. Hospitals, which are managed by business executives, behave like predatory lenders, hounding patients and seizing their homes. Research charities are in bed with big pharmaceutical companies, which surreptitiously profit from the donations made by working people. Americans are dying from routine medical conditions when affordable and straightforward solutions exist.
Dr. Rosenthal explains for the first time how various social and financial incentives have encouraged a disastrous and immoral system to spring up organically in a shockingly short span of time. The system is in tatters, but we can fight back. An American Sickness is the frontline defense against a health-care system that no longer has our well-being at heart.
©2017 Elisabeth Rosenthal (P)2017 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"An eye opening discussion ... [An] important book.... Rosenthal told an interviewer her goal was to 'start a very loud conversation' that will be 'difficult politically to ignore.' We need such a conversation - not just about how the market fails, but about how we can change the political realities that stand in the way of fixing it.” (The New York Times Book Review)
“In this in-depth analysis of a malfunctioning system, Rosenthal makes a compelling case against the hospital and pharmaceutical executives behind the 'money chase,' and it’s hard to imagine a more educated, credible guide...The patients she interviewed share mind-boggling stories...She builds her case with one damning statistic after another...Rosenthal presents solutions both personal and societal in this commanding and necessary call to arms.” (Booklist [starred])
"Provocatively analyzes...Rosenthal unveils with surgical precision the 'dysfunctional medical market'...a startling cascade.” (Publishers Weekly [starred review])
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-
Story
The United States spends an excess $1.5 trillion annually on health care compared to other wealthy countries—yet the amount of time that Americans live in good health ranks a lowly 68th in the world. At the heart of the problem is Big Pharma, which funds most clinical trials and therefore controls the research agenda, withholds the real data from those trials as corporate secrets, and shapes most of the information relied upon by health care professionals.
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Great info, but I’m confused…
- By Iread on 04-04-22
By: John Abramson
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The American Health Care Paradox
- Why Spending More Is Getting Us Less
- By: Elizabeth H. Bradley, Lauren A. Taylor, Harvey V. Fineberg
- Narrated by: Emily Durante
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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In The American Health Care Paradox, Bradley and Taylor illuminate how narrow definitions of health care, archaic divisions in the distribution of health and social services, and our allergy to government programs combine to create needless suffering in individual lives, even as health care spending continues to soar. They tell us how, and why, the US health care system developed as it did; examine the constraints on, and possibilities for, reform; and profile inspiring new initiatives from around the world.
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great book and points
- By Sean Chady on 09-15-23
By: Elizabeth H. Bradley, and others
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The Health Gap
- The Challenge of an Unequal World
- By: Michael Marmot
- Narrated by: Chris Courtenay
- Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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There are dramatic differences in health between countries and within countries. But this is not a simple matter of rich and poor. These health inequalities defy usual explanations. Conventional approaches to improving health have emphasised access to technical solutions – improved medical care, sanitation, and control of disease vectors; or behaviours – smoking, drinking – obesity, linked to diabetes, heart disease and cancer. These approaches only go so far.
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Chapters aren’t aligned
- By Anonymous User on 02-02-25
By: Michael Marmot
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The Hidden History of the Supreme Court and the Betrayal of America
- The Thom Hartmann Hidden History Series
- By: Thom Hartmann
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 4 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Taking his typically in-depth, historically informed view, Thom Hartmann asks: What if the Supreme Court didn't have the power to strike down laws? According to the Constitution, it doesn't. From the founding of the republic until 1803, the Supreme Court was the final court of appeals, as it was always meant to be. So where did the concept of judicial review start? As so much of modern American history, it began with the battle between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, and with Marbury v. Madison.
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A must read to understand why voting is essential.
- By Brandon WIlliams on 10-05-19
By: Thom Hartmann
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Pharma
- Greed, Lies, and the Poisoning of America
- By: Gerald Posner
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy
- Length: 22 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Pharmaceutical breakthroughs such as antibiotics and vaccines rank among some of the greatest advancements in human history. Yet, exorbitant prices for life-saving drugs, safety recalls affecting tens of millions of Americans, and soaring rates of addiction and overdose on prescription opioids have caused many to lose faith in drug companies. Now, Americans are demanding a national reckoning with a monolithic industry.
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Great book, but with some issues
- By Irina on 06-12-20
By: Gerald Posner
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The Social Transformation of American Medicine
- The Rise of a Sovereign Profession and the Making of a Vast Industry
- By: Paul Starr
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 24 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Considered the definitive history of the American healthcare system, The Social Transformation of American Medicine examines how the roles of doctors, hospitals, health plans, and government programs have evolved over the last two and a half centuries. Updated with a new preface and an epilogue analyzing developments since the early 1980s, this new edition is a must-listen for anyone concerned about the future of our fraught healthcare system.
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Fascinating Survey of Healthcare in Amerixa
- By Rob on 06-24-19
By: Paul Starr
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Priced Out
- The Economic and Ethical Costs of American Health Care
- By: Uwe E. Reinhardt, Paul Krugman - Foreword by, William H. Frist - Foreword by
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 4 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Uwe Reinhardt was a towering figure and moral conscience of health care policy in the United States and beyond. Famously bipartisan, he advised presidents and Congress on health reform and originated central features of the Affordable Care Act. In Priced Out, Reinhardt offers an engaging and enlightening account of today's US health care system, explaining why it costs so much more and delivers so much less than the systems of every other advanced country, why this situation is morally indefensible, and how we might improve it.
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A great book for someone who studies healthcare and economics
- By Samuel on 06-03-19
By: Uwe E. Reinhardt, and others
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The Innovator's Prescription
- A Disruptive Solution for Health Care
- By: Clayton M. Christensen, Jerome H. Grossman, Jason Hwang
- Narrated by: Scott Pollak
- Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Our health-care system is in critical condition. The Affordable Care Act has insured more Americans than ever, yet deductibles keep rising and costs continue to climb. Now more than ever, the industry needs a shot in the arm. It needs The Innovator's Prescription, the now-classic approach to efficient, affordable health care.
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Confused on the publishing date.
- By Anonymous User on 01-29-25
By: Clayton M. Christensen, and others
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Deep Medicine
- How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Healthcare Human Again
- By: Eric Topol
- Narrated by: Graham Winton
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Medicine has become inhuman, to disastrous effect. The doctor-patient relationship - the heart of medicine - is broken: doctors are too distracted and overwhelmed to truly connect with their patients, and medical errors and misdiagnoses abound. In Deep Medicine, leading physician Eric Topol reveals how artificial intelligence can help. AI has the potential to transform everything doctors do, from notetaking and medical scans to diagnosis and treatment, greatly cutting down the cost of medicine and reducing human mortality.
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a must book for all doctors and patients.
- By adva onn on 04-21-19
By: Eric Topol
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Do No Harm
- Stories of Life, Death, and Brain Surgery
- By: Henry Marsh
- Narrated by: Jim Barclay
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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With compassion and candor, leading neurosurgeon Henry Marsh reveals the fierce joy of operating, the profoundly moving triumphs, the harrowing disasters, the haunting regrets, and the moments of black humor that characterize a brain surgeon's life. If you believe that brain surgery is a precise and exquisite craft, practiced by calm and detached surgeons, this gripping, brutally honest account will make you think again.
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Uneven
- By Scott on 06-02-15
By: Henry Marsh
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Healthcare Finance
- Modern Financial Analysis for Accelerating Biomedical Innovation
- By: Andrew W. Lo, Shomesh E. Chaudhuri
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 17 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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We are living in a golden age of biomedical innovation, yet entrepreneurs still struggle with the so-called Valley of Death when seeking funding for their biotech start-ups. In Healthcare Finance, Andrew Lo and Shomesh Chaudhuri show that there are better ways to finance breakthrough therapies, and they provide the essential financial tools and concepts for creating the next generation of healthcare technologies.
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Recomended
- By Roberto Reale on 08-24-23
By: Andrew W. Lo, and others
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The Political Determinants of Health
- By: Daniel E. Dawes, David R. Williams - foreword
- Narrated by: David Marantz
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Reduced life expectancy, worsening health outcomes, health inequity, and declining health-care options - these are now realities for most Americans. However, in a country of more than 325 million people, addressing everyone's issues is challenging. How can we effect beneficial change for everyone so we all can thrive? What is the great equalizer?
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Must Read
- By Kimberly Varnado on 05-12-24
By: Daniel E. Dawes, and others
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Diagnosis
- Solving the Most Baffling Medical Mysteries
- By: Lisa Sanders
- Narrated by: Lisa Sanders
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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As a Yale School of Medicine physician, the New York Times best-selling author of Every Patient Tells a Story, and an inspiration and adviser for the hit Fox TV drama, House, M.D., Lisa Sanders has seen it all. And yet, she is often confounded by the cases she describes in her column: unexpected collections of symptoms that she and other physicians struggle to diagnose. Dr. Sanders shows how making the right diagnosis requires expertise, painstaking procedure, and sometimes a little luck.
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Repetitive from her previous work
- By anon on 03-08-21
By: Lisa Sanders
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Weathering
- The Extraordinary Stress of Ordinary Life in an Unjust Society
- By: Dr. Arline T. Geronimus
- Narrated by: Alma Cuervo
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Dr. Arline T. Geronimus coined the term “weathering” to describe the effects of systemic oppression—including racism and classism—on the body. In Weathering, based on more than 30 years of research, she argues that health and aging have more to do with how society treats us than how well we take care of ourselves. She explains what happens to human bodies as they attempt to withstand and overcome the challenges and insults that society leverages at them, and details how this process ravages their health. And she proposes solutions.
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So glad I listened to this
- By Danielle on 02-06-24
What listeners say about An American Sickness
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- R & R
- 04-13-17
Outstanding summary of our current healthcare situation
A must read for every American to better understand the issues stakeholders and patients face, how we got to this current situation, and why politicians are in a standoff over a solution that will work to keep cost down while providing high quality patient care. Very timely and a much needed release.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Michael Bates
- 07-02-17
learned a lot!
great book, I haven't read anything like it before. definitely recommend to anyone looking to understand the healthcare system better.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Meghan Herger
- 05-31-17
Information packed
An enlightening investigation into healthcare practices for both healthcare consumers and healthcare providers. As a person who wears both of these hats I found this book informative and also angering as healthcare has become more about profit than quality care. It is not light reading and it's focus is heavily on what is wrong with the current state of healthcare (and offers advice on how to better it personally and nationally). Highly recommended read for healthcare consumers and professionals.
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1 person found this helpful
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- User
- 06-06-19
Good book. Sickening details.
This book covers everything from humble beginnings to the nightmare we have today. Brutal real-life examples and ways to possibly fix this are included. You may want to listen to this if you are considering moving to the US from a country with a more cost-effective healthcare system. Every chapter felt like I was listening to what a different layer of hell is like. very well written overall and good research and sources. If every American read this book, there would be protests.
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- Fabrício
- 05-26-17
A true call to arms against financial abuses
Throughly and masterfully illustrated with recent, ongoing, real life examples of the abuses of the many players in the health care business, this work is an outright unashamed call to arms for us, patients, or consumers, to insurge against every touchable corner of the health care system, its perverse incentives, and its inefficiencies. A well crafted journalistic work from Rosenthal.
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- Nicole
- 11-20-17
Brilliant and enticing
I wish this book was required reading for all college students entering into health care fields. It’s full of wisdom and written in such a way that I felt like I was reading a top selling novel. The system is so corrupt but this book takes the reader to the first step: awareness of the problem.
My favorite book of 2017
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- Marko Vukosavovic
- 10-15-17
must read, utterly disgusting
i am absolutely disgusted with what i have read in this book
it's beyond comprehensible that a system like this is allowed to exist
i'm especially disgusted with so many beyond greedy doctors for whom the Hippocrates Oath is clearly a massive joke
i cannot believe that people in the states actually agree to put up with that
my family and i live in Israel and the health-care system here is incredible compared to the one in the USA
i'm beyond disgusted!!!!!!!!
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- Eileen Giardina
- 08-18-18
SICK Healthcare
I have worked in the health care industry for 50 years. Dr. Rosenthal has nailed it. Monies spent for health care are directed to make CEOs and mega insurance carriers and hospitals. Why would anyone want to become a doctor, Nurse Practitioner, etc.
People need to practice preventive health and eat responsibly because NO one can afford chronic care. Very very sad.
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- Eric Collson
- 07-27-19
A MUST Read
This book truly unwraps the complex and sometimes corrupt financial world of health care. I recommend this book to every person whether medical or not.
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- John Fortune
- 08-01-17
A Fascinating Must Read - Is it Onesided?
So much good and fascinating information in this book. I find it to be a must read for almost anyone over 30. We has patients need to be extremely diligent by taking as much control over our healthcare as possible and reasonable. It is not like the good old days when you just trusted everything the hospital and doctor told you and did to you.
Give how much good information is in this book - I did feel there as a major hole in that it was kind of one sided. When I spoke about some of the ideas in this book with some healthcare leaders I work with, they had some things to say that provided a different perspective. So just keep that in mind when reading.
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8 people found this helpful