Release Date: 01 April, 2005
Hardcover
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From Booklist
Sered, an anthropologist, and Fernandopulle, a doctor specializing in public-health policy, provide a troubling look at Americans without health insurance, some of whom must choose between food and medical treatment. They interviewed more than 120 uninsured Americans in Texas, Mississippi, Idaho, Illinois, and Massachusetts as well as physicians, administrators, and health-policy officials. The result is a collection of heartrending stories of the "caste of the ill, the infirm, and the marginally employed." The authors describe the "death spiral" of people who lack insurance for myriad reasons--including self-employment and divorce--and whose illnesses cannot be adequately treated. Their medical conditions inevitably deteriorate--small tumors metastasize, diabetes leads to amputation or dialysis treatments--increasing both the costs and the dire consequences. Once individuals are caught in the death spiral, they are unlikely to find a way out. The ultimate impact of this shocking crisis is felt by all Americans in the form of higher health-care costs and more antibiotic-resistant bacteria as conditions go untreated. This is a stark and disturbing book. Vanessa Bush
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Book Description
Reaching beyond statistics and prevalent assumptions, Uninsured in America goes to the heart of why more than forty million Americans are falling through the cracks in the health care system, and what it means for society as a whole when so many people suffer the consequences of inadequate medical care. Based on interviews with 120 uninsured men and women and dozens of medical providers, policymakers, and advocates from around the nation, this book takes a fresh look at one of the most important social issues facing the United States today. The vivid and moving stories of those interviewed illustrate the complicated dilemmas--including full-time family caregiving, sudden illness, self-employment, layoffs, and on-the-job injuries--faced by those trying to balance medical problems with housing costs and other daily necessities. This engrossing, accessible, and timely book concludes that our current health care system is leading to fundamental structural changes in American society.
Download Description
Reaching beyond statistics and prevalent assumptions, Uninsured in America goes to the heart of why more than forty million Americans are falling through the cracks in the health care system, and what it means for society as a whole when so many people suffer the consequences of inadequate medical care. Based on interviews with 120 uninsured men and women and dozens of medical providers, policymakers, and advocates from around the nation, this book takes a fresh look at one of the most important social issues facing the United States today. The vivid and moving stories of those interviewed illustrate the complicated dilemmas--including full-time family caregiving, sudden illness, self-employment, layoffs, and on-the-job injuries--faced by those trying to balance medical problems with housing costs and other daily necessities. This engrossing, accessible, and timely book concludes that our current health care system is leading to fundamental structural changes in American society.--This text refers to the Digital edition.
From the Back Cover
"This important work gives a voice to some of the 44 million Americans who are at the center of the debate over coverage for the uninsured in this country. While there is much discussion of how to address this crisis, these individuals tell us why we must solve this problem: the costs and consequences of living without health insurance are dire."--Karen Davis, Ph.D., President of the Commonwealth Fund
"A vivid, indignant, and important book, and it does one thing better than any other before: Uninsured makes the abandoned millions visible again. Read it. You will not see the people at a subway stop, behind a cash register, or in your government the same way again."--Atul Gawande, M.D., author of Complications
"The next time someone tells you the United States has 'the best health care system in the world,' ask them to read this powerful, heartbreaking book. Never have the real stories of America's uninsured been told with such clarity and insight."--John E. McDonough, DPH, Health Care For All, Boston
"Uninsured is both compassionate and insightful. Necessary reading for all policy makers and anyone who wants a deeper understanding of how our health care system must be reformed. " --Judy Norsigian, Executive Director, Our Bodies Ourselves
About the Author
Susan Starr Sered is Research Director of the Religion, Health, and Healing Initiative at the Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard University. She is the author of What Makes Women Sick? Militarism, Maternity and Modesty in Israeli Society (2000) and Priestess, Mother, Sacred Sister: Religions Dominated by Women (1994). Rushika Fernandopulle is Executive Director of the Harvard Interfaculty Program for Health Systems Improvement and the author of Health Care Policy (1995). Rating
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