The American Health Care Paradox: Why Spending More is Getting Us Less

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(as of Nov 04, 2025 07:38:02 UTC – Details)


Foreword by Harvey V. Fineberg, President of the Institute of Medicine
For decades, experts have puzzled over why the US spends more on health care but suffers poorer outcomes than other industrialized nations. Now Elizabeth H. Bradley and Lauren A. Taylor marshal extensive research, including a comparative study of health care data from thirty countries, and get to the root of this paradox: We’ve left out of our tally the most impactful expenditures countries make to improve the health of their populations-investments in social services.
In The American Health Care Paradox, Bradley and Taylor illuminate how narrow definitions of “health care,” archaic divisions in the distribution of health and social services, and our allergy to government programs combine to create needless suffering in individual lives, even as health care spending continues to soar. They show us how and why the US health care “system” developed as it did; examine the constraints on, and possibilities for, reform; and profile inspiring new initiatives from around the world.
Offering a unique and clarifying perspective on the problems the Affordable Care Act won’t solve, this book also points a new way forward.
Publisher ‏ : ‎ PublicAffairs
Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 3, 2015
Edition ‏ : ‎ Reprint
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1610395484
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1610395489
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.4 x 0.7 x 5.5 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #722,493 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #119 in Health Insurance (Books) #223 in Health Policy (Books) #571 in Health Care Delivery (Books)
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