Health Care Reform Now!: A Prescription for Change

by George C. Halvorson

Book Overview

The United States spends more money on health care by far than any other country and yet nearly 50,000,000 Americans are uninsured at least part of the time each year. Health Care Reform Now is written for anyone who cares enough about our health care situation to consider serious alternatives to the current system. In this book George Halvorson--an internationally known health care leader and author--offers a sensible approach to health care reform...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0787997528
• ISBN13: 9780787997526
• Release Date: August 2007
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.3" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A Complicated Subject

After reading this book and all the reviews, it is clear that health care reform is a complicated subject that even many industry experts cannot agree on. Some type of health care reform is needed because the health care costs are going up at a rate higher than inflation and the number of uninsured is growing. I am not an industry expert, but nationalizing the entire health care system is probably not the best solution. I was born in a country that had a nationalized health care system and my father would not be walking today if he were operated on by the doctors recommended by the government. My parents had to come up with US dollars to pay the specialist to operate on my father's spine, but at least he is able to walk and function normally. Reading this book was informative. - Mariusz Skonieczny, author of Why Are We So Clueless about the Stock Market? Learn how to invest your money, how to pick stocks, and how to make money in the stock market

Healthcare Reform Now!

Very informational, excellent vision and resolution thinking. Certainly the Six Sigma process can be extremely beneficial. Alicia Trigo An Amazing Organization, Inc.

Great Practical Guide to Health Care Reform

George Halverson does an exceptional job at laying out the major issues facing the United States health care sector and systematically making practical suggestions for reform. Having been on the inside of Kaiser in California, Halverson has an in-depth knowledge of the complex interplay between physicians, payers, patients, providers, hospitals and the government. Four of his most powerful messages are how to harvest existing personal health records, the need to focus on chronic disease, how to create intermediary agents that pursue high quality and efficient care, and the fundamental necessity of universal health care coverage. Although that last reform is left-leaning, the author's perspective is balanced and he supports reforms to make health care markets work and reduce unnecessary administrative waste. One of his most resounding messages is that we get what we pay for in health care; currently we have over 9,000 billing codes for treating disease and not a single way to bill for a cure or maintaining wellness. As a health care professional for the past six years, I highly endorse this book to both novices and experts alike. The challenges that await health care reform are large and complex, but it is the articulate and well-though advice of veterans like George Halverson that will make long-term advancement possible.

Book review : Health Care Reform Now by B. Halvorson

Exceptionally well written book with excellent, easy to understand, and timely problem definition. Obvious the author has significant experience, knowledge, and understanding of our health care system - and it's good and bad sides. A prescription for change is well founded and argmented Solution, well solution is neither that simple nor obvious. Universal Coverage Solution based on the reports from all countries, which have such coverage today, appears to leave quite a few open questions and unacceptable results. Could Universal Coverage be made acceptable and suitable to this country? I take the authors invitation for building a national consensus about the shape and form of the Universal Coverage for Health Care in our country very seriously and as a major contribution and message of the book. A stepping stone in building a just right health care system we all need. A book worth reading..Health Care Reform Now!: A Prescription for Change

George Halvorson is right on targer for health care reform

George Halvorson has "walked the walk" with health care in America. He was CEO of Health Partners in Minneapolis and is now CEO of the entire Kaiser Health system. He knows just how bad health care is in America and presents the facts to back it up. He also know how it can work if we come together and develop a rational and affordable health system for everyone. Micheal Moore missed the mark when he attacked Kaiser in his movie, Sicko. Kaiser is huge and far from perfect. But, this book shows how wise and insightful George Halvorson is in pointing the way for the right change in America