Howard Dean's Prescription for Real Health Care Reform by Howard Dean

Product Details

Synopsis

Americans have pondered how to reform healthcare since the days of Harry Truman. But for most Americans, little has changed—except that healthcare costs have soared, health insurance companies have grown bigger and more oppressive to both doctors and patients, and today even those Americans who pay dearly for health insurance frequently find that their policies don't adequately cover them when they need their coverage most.

Something has got to give. In his bold new book, Howard Dean—the physician and former governor widely credited for reviving the Democratic Party after the 2004 elections—tells Americans what needs to be done to successfully reform healthcare. One key, he writes, is to offer Americans the option to participate in a public health insurance program, much like Medicare. "America has had 'socialized' medicine since 1964," says Dean. "It's called Medicare; it covers every American over 65, and they are very happy with the program. The rest of America deserves a similar option."

In this straight-talking guide to overcoming today's healthcare crisis, Dean spells out:

• What Obama's healthcare plan is all about
• How other countries handle healthcare
• Which special interests are standing in the way of progress and why
• How healthcare reform will help American businesses prosper
• Why Americans need choice—between private and public health insurance coverage

Millions of Americans lack health insurance; millions more pay for coverage that doesn't protect them from serious illness; and the status quo leaves Americans at the mercy of corporate interests. This persuasive argument from a passionate political strategist shows Americans how to take back the healthcare reins.

Publishers Weekly

As a both a Democratic Party standard bearer and a former practicing physician, Gov. Dean (You Have the Power, Winning Back America) has placed himself at the forefront of grass-roots organizing for healthcare reform. In a searing indictment of private insurers who put profits ahead of care, Dean advocates a public-health insurance option, posing the question: "Is private health insurance really health insurance? Or is it simply an extension of the things that have been happening on Wall Street?" Charts illustrate the disadvantages faced by U.S. industry against competitors in other countries, and dovetail with his plan for "healthcare reform, not just insurance reform," including more preventative medicine, home-care for seniors, standards set by medical professionals rather than insurers; ultimately, he concludes, the result would be lower costs and better medicine. Dean is most controversial when he proposes to fund reforms with a carbon tax on gasoline, and only slightly less so when asserting that a "reform bill is not worth passing" without a public option. This lively, detailed read should help shape the debate on one of the year's most pressing issues.
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Biography

Howard Dean—physician and former chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC)—served six terms as Governor of Vermont before running for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in the nation's 2004 election. Dean also founded Democracy for America (DFA), the grassroots organization that organizes activists in local communities, trains campaign staff, and endorses progressive candidates. Recently, Dean launched a DFA healthcare reform campaign—pushing legislators to give Americans a public healthcare option.