The American Health Care Paradox: Why Spending More is Getting Us Less
Public-health experts Bradley and Taylor argue that, despite numerous and widespread efforts to rein in health-care costs, America is still paying more and getting less when the overall health of the country is contrasted with those of its international peers, even accounting for differences in national policy. The authors’ iteration of the fundamental cause of the system’s root paradox—it rewards a person who waits until they’re so sick they require expensive care while at the same time shaming the expensive-care provider for, well, charging for the expensive care—is not new. What is new here is their call for a holistic approach, integrating social and medical services into a cohesive cross-disciplinary system with the goal of supporting good health. Health-care systems fail because they don’t address the life circumstances (education, housing, employment) required to sustain wellness. To be clear, the authors don’t endorse a nanny state that becomes all things to all people but, rather, a government that is a catalyst for holistic innovation, nurturing good health at all socioeconomic levels. --Donna Chavez