Reviewed
by: BigAl
Genre:
Non-Fiction
Approximate
word count: 30-35,000
words
Availability
Click
on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes &
Noble, or Smashwords store
Author:
“Fritz
Scheffel spent forty years working in various healthcare
jobs--spending twenty of those years as an active retail pharmacist,
or pharmacy owner, working with doctors, drug company
representatives, nursing homes, health insurance companies, and the
public. He gained more experience while selling computer systems to
retail, hospital, and institutional pharmacies. Additionally, he
worked as a business broker listing and selling pharmacies. During
his time in the healthcare industry, pharmacy evolved from a
free-enterprise business environment to one controlled by health
insurance companies and government entitlement programs.
Fritz
suffered a stroke in the spring of 2012 and learned he was a
diabetic, which led to firsthand experience of just how the
healthcare industry has deteriorated. Determined to speak with people
about the industry, Fritz wants to show that a better performing
healthcare industry is attainable, and that it will be easier if
certain other entities were not involved.”
Description:
“How
well do you understand what defines your health? Can you wake up one
morning and make the decision to go purchase good health? Where would
you go? Can you tell Santa Claus that you want him to bring you the
gift of good health for Christmas? The federal government and health
insurance companies want us to believe that having 'health care' can
make you healthy. They have presented health care as a means to your
health, but it has turned out to be a con job to take over each
American’s access to medical care—decimating health
professionals’ ability to treat their patients effectively and at a
reasonable cost.”
Appraisal:
Buried
among the loads of nonsense, contradictions, biased opinions,
unsubstantiated rumors, and impractical ideas that make up the
majority of Healthscare
are a few reasonable points. One is that the system of providing
healthcare in the US is broke. (Few would argue that. The differences
in opinion are how to fix it and whether recent changes are helping
more than hurting.) Another is that good health, or at least the best
health possible for any particular person given their luck in the
genetic lottery, is partially dependent on the individual, not just
services provided by medical professionals. Last, the author has a
definite pet peeve that the term “health care” has become
synonymous with health insurance. Obviously health insurance is the
means people use to pay for or finance the actual health care
services and there is a good case to be made that the system of
health insurance has been a significant factor in increasing costs.
However,
that's a few reasonable points and a whole lot of solid waste
product. I'll briefly hit on just a few representative points to
avoid writing an entire book in rebuttal.
Throughout
the book it was clear that the author is of the opinion that
government is bad, business is good; regulation is bad, and market
forces are good. There were exceptions. (The feeling that compounding
pharmacies aren't regulated enough is one example of an exception. He
also seems to ignore that market forces reacting to drug shortages
caused by big drug companies is the reason for these to exist.) Even
when he thought business did something bad (large drug companies in
one instance), he blamed it on the government, not the businesses.
I
won't argue that government is all good (it obviously isn't), nor
that businesses never do good. However, I don't trust private
businesses which have a duty to maximize their profit within whatever
laws limit them to have my best interests at heart. Do you?
Then
we've got this quote:
This
kind of thinking comes right from socialism, liberalism,
progressivism, communism, and Marxism—pick one.
Anyone
who thinks these are the same needs a better dictionary or a better
concept of the shades of gray between black and white. If the quote
had you nodding in agreement, consider this alternative.
This
kind of thinking comes right from fascism, conservatism,
regressivism, and anarchism—pick one.
How
fair does that seem?
Next
consider this claim:
If
we could successfully get rid of Obamacare, everyone would benefit,
including the poor. Without the federal government involvement in
health care, states would be better positioned to take care of the
needy in their state.
To
which I would ask, then why didn't they? To be fair, one state,
Massachusetts, did do something along these lines that resembled the
Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare. But why does he
think that those states that had done none of these things, some of
which are actively doing just the opposite today, would magically
change direction if the ACA was repealed? If this kind of illogical
wishful thinking is your thing, if you'd like to read fear-mongering,
anti-Obamacare predictions (many that have already been debunked or
turned out wrong), then this is the book for you. Otherwise, take a
pass.
Format/Typo
Issues:
A
small number of typos or other proofing errors.
Rating:
* One Star
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