Writer/Entrepreneur

Umang Malhotra

(a partner in the venture) of www.ArtisticGoods.com.

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The fundamental premise of the book is that most American decision makers are in a state of denial. Many of them consistently claim that the United States has the greatest health care system in the world. That claim is hard to support, when America spends over 16% of GNP on health care, while more than 46 million Americans have no health insurance and millions are under-insured.

Other wealthy nations like Japan, Australia, Canada , and rich European nations spend between 8 to 11% of GNP in health care and enjoy superior service and universal coverage. America is the only rich country that does not provide universal health care coverage to its population.

Surprisingly, Americans, the citizens of the wealthiest country in the history of the world have a lower life expectancy rate, higher rates of heart disease and cancer, and an infant mortality rate that is twice as high as other rich industrialized nations. Even Cuba has a lower infant mortality rate than the United States according to CIA Fact Book .

Per dollar America spends much more and gets much less in return than other affluent Western nations when it comes to health care spending. It is time for the American policymakers to stop bragging about their health care system and start acting on their hollow promises to find real solutions to health care crisis. It is expected that the United States health care spending would reach nearly 20% of GNP within next 10 years, which is unsustainable.

The book compares and contrasts health care systems of other industrialized countries to the United States . Several critical issues facing American health care system are described. Finally, the feasibility of implementing a universal health care plans that are cost effective and are either financed publicly or by both public and private institutions are presented as possible solutions. These plans also take into consideration the best practices of health care systems of other affluent nations in the world. This includes the implementation of Information Technology that should have a major role to play in cutting costs and making any health care system more efficient and cost effective.

*** Note ***

During the course of my research in the past three years, I have obtained data and charts from the most reputable sources (e.g. U.N, WHO, CIA, OECD, DHHS, Ministries of health in other countries). The reader is provided a comprehensive examination of the state of the American health care system.

Solving the American Health Care Crisis

Contents

Preface

Chapter  1         Introduction  ……………………………………………………..

Chapter    II        Multinational Comparisons of Health Care …………………..

Chapter    III      Health Care in Different Countries  …………………..…………

a)       Australia   …………………………………………………….

b)       Canada      …………………………………………………….

c)        Cuba           …………………………………………………….

d)       England     …………………………………………………….

e)       France        ……………………………………………………

f)         Germany    ……………………………………………………

g)       Japan          ……………………………………………………

h)       Norway       ……………………………………………………

i)         Spain            ……………………………………………………

j)         Sweden       ……………………………………………………

Chapter    IV     American Health Care System    ………………………………...

Chapter    V      Problems and Issues with the American Health Care System  ..

Chapter    VI      Cost Effective Solutions to the American Health Care System ..

Chapter    VII    Conclusions   ……………………………………………………...

Chapter    VIII   Notes and References   …………………………………………...

Published book