I had high hopes for this book. Except for the one innovative idea, the creation of a Federal Health Board, this was an average book compared to the many available which detail the challenges of our dysfunctional healthcare system far better. The book is an easy read, doesn't cover much in depth, but highlights all of the key points one needs to know to speak intelligently about the healthcare system (and presumably to be Secretary of Health and Human Services).
It is unclear whether creation of a Federal Health Board will be able to provide the impetus needed to make the American healthcare system higher quality, less costly, and more inclusive with universal coverage. One thing is clear from his book and that is Americans want a better healthcare system than currently exists. It won't be a pure single payer government run system. It won't be a free market private industry program. It will be a hybrid. What type of hybrid? Time will tell.
The book is divided into five parts. Part One details the healthcare system in crisis filled with individual anecdotes on how it has bankrupted, failed, and at times killed people without adequate insurance coverage or financial means to pay for care.
Part Two talks about the history of healthcare reform, which covers the beginning of the twentieth century. It highlights efforts by President Truman, Medicare and Medicaid legislation, as well as attempts in the 1970s, 1980s, and the early 1990s.
In Part Three, Daschle looks at why reform hasn't occurred. He begins to build his case for creating a new entity, a Federal Health Board, which is modeled after the Federal Reserve as well as the British National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).
Part Four he focuses in on how the Federal Health Board would be structured (a central board with several regional boards). As an independent body, it would recommend that only medications, treatments, and procedures backed by medical evidence and not by marketing be covered under government run insurance plans. It would also determine what criteria and benefits private insurers must offer to participate in expansion of the FEHBP (Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan). This new market would insure those unable to get employer-based or government run insurance programs currently.
Finally in Part Five, he makes the case on the likelihood for healthcare reform.
The best part of the book is Senator Daschle's perspective on the healthcare reform attempt by the Clinton administration, particularly how excitement and momentum moved the country towards reform only to see external events, special interest groups, as well as political missteps, caused it to die. Without a doubt, future leaders who hope to forward any healthcare reform package would best learn what not what to do.
Davis Liu, M.D., is a practicing board-certified family physician and author of the book Stay Healthy, Live Longer, Spend Wisely - Making Intelligent Choices in America's Healthcare System. He graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his medical degree from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. Learn more about what you must do to stay well at http://www.davisliumd.com/ and at http://www.davisliumd.blogspot.com/
