Description
Book SynopsisThe US political system has come to depend upon money too much. The US health care industry spends the most on political lobbying among all the 13 industrial sectors in the US economy. The government regulatory agencies at both federal and state levels have been captured by the health industry interest groups meaning that the regulatory agencies respond to the interests of the industry but not those of citizens.
This book employs a broad theoretical framework of crony capitalism to understand US health care system dysfunction. This framework has not been applied before in any serious manner to understand the shortcomings in the US health care system. Specifically, the book examines the role of seven key players using this framework - politicians/interest groups, pharmaceutical companies, private health insurers, hospitals/hospital networks, physicians, medical device manufacturers, and the American public. Crony capitalism is a destructive force and is rampant in US health car
Table of Contents
Part One. Explication of the U.S. health care system dysfunction 1. The Nature and Extent of the Problem 2. The Crux of the Problem 3. Medicine without Evidence Part Two. Key Players Contributing to the System Dysfunction 4. Politicians/Interest Groups 5. Pharmaceutical Companies 6. Private Health Insurers 7. Hospitals and Hospital Networks 8. Physicians 9. Medical Device Manufacturers 10. American Public Part Three. How to Fix the U.S. Health Care System Dysfunction 11. Addressing Crony Capitalism, the Root Cause of Dysfunction 12. Health Insurance, Payment, and Pricing Arrangements 13. Well-Informed Citizenry