American Consequences - September 2018

LITERARY INSIGHT from PRESENT & PAST " WHATWE’RE READING Amedical school has to accept a bodywithin six days of death, although typically it is embalmed within three. Without a body, there can be no funeral. It may be two years before the ashes or remains are returned for burial. Why people leave their bodies to medical research – and what happens The Guardian

Nursing homes, preoccupied with safety, pin patients into railed beds and wheelchairs. Hospitals isolate the dying, checking for vital signs long after the goals of cure have become moot. Doctors, committed to extending life, continue to carry out devastating procedures that extend suffering. Being Mortal: Medicine andWhat Matters in the End Atul Gawande Patients may think their insurers are fighting on their behalf for the best prices. But saving patients money is often not their top priority. Just ask Michael Frank. Why Your Health Insurer Doesn’t Care About Your Big Bills ProPublica Why is the American health care system so dysfunctional and costly? This book lays bare the root causes of America’s health care ills, revealing a system that performs as exactly as designed: expensively, out of control, with no accountability. Overcharged: Why Americans Pay Too Much for Health Care Cato Institute The behavior of any bureaucratic organization can best be understood by assuming that it is controlled by a secret cabal of its enemies. Consider North Carolina’s intervention in the medical- devices market... The sprawling, intrusive administrative state is keeping you unwell Washington Post

Drug companies have infiltrated nearly every part of the process that determines how their drugs will be covered by taxpayers... giving free dinners, consulting gigs, all-inclusive resort vacations, and outright bribes. Investigation: Patients’ Drug Options Under Medicaid Heavily Influenced By Drugmakers NPR

Few people in health care, from consumers to doctors to hospitals to insurers, know the true cost of what they are buying and selling. Why Americans Spend So Much on Health Care – In 12 Charts Wall Street Journal

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