The Price We Pay

What Broke American Health Care - and How to Fix It

By: Marty Makary MD

Narrated by: Marty Makary MD

Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

From the New York Times best-selling author of Unaccountable comes an eye-opening, urgent look at America's broken health care system - and the people who are saving it. 

One in five Americans now has medical debt in collections and rising health care costs today threaten every small business in America. Dr Makary, one of the nation's leading health care experts, travels across America and details why health care has become a bubble. Drawing from on-the-ground stories, his research and his own experience, The Price We Pay paints a vivid picture of price-gouging, middlemen and a series of elusive money games in need of a serious shake-up. Dr Makary shows how so much of health care spending goes to things that have nothing to do with health and what you can do about it. Dr Makary challenges the medical establishment to remember medicine's noble heritage of caring for people when they are vulnerable.

The Price We Pay offers a road map for everyday Americans and business leaders to get a better deal on their health care and profiles the disruptors who are innovating medical care. The movement to restore medicine to its mission, Makary argues, is alive and well - a mission that can rebuild the public trust and save our country from the crushing cost of health care.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio on our Desktop Site.

©2019 Marty Makary (P)2020 Audible, Ltd

Very important book!

THE PRICE WE PAY by Marty Makary MD takes a deep look at all aspects of American health care finding and detailing graft and major inefficiencies almost everywhere. He makes many recommendations on needed improvements. Dr. Makery is a surgeon at Johns Hopkins who has spent years studying the American healthcare system. The lack of price transparency that leads to some hospitals charging 5 to 25 times as much for the same procedures than other hospitals in the same geographic area is but one of many situations he found. He also details how some hospitals routinely turn over accounts to debt collection agencies without attempting to negotiate with patients thereby damaging credit scores of their patients. The problem exists with both not-for-profit and for-profit hospitals and medical facilities. He delves deeply into unnecessary, even redundant, procedures which are done although not needed in order to generate more revenue for doctors and medical facilities. Dr. Makary also looks at such issues at such areas as medical transport, out-of-network use, cost of pharmaceuticals, group insurance pricing, and cost of medical supplies to hospitals and finds major inefficiencies built into the systems in the form of unnecessary middlemen.

The Affordable Care Act dealt only with covering the uninsured and not with medical system costs.

I highly recommend The Price We Pay.

Most important healthcare book ever written

I'll argue that The Price We Pay is the most important healthcare book ever written. Marty addresses every single problem in our healthcare ecosystem with thoughtful analysis and practical solutions: from Medicare to large self-funded plans. A must read for every American.

Everyone needs to read or listen to Dr. Makary

As a medical transportation professional, I became a fan of Dr. Makary’s while reading his first book and have been looking forward to “The Price We Pay” for many months. As a flight nurse with fifteen years of experience, I can attest to the fact that Dr. Makary is entirely accurate with his description of price manipulation in the Air Ambulance industry. Unfortunately, I believe the problem is getting much worse each year. I was especially fascinated by the chapter which described splitting up procedures as just last month I had to argue to get a dual procedure done on the same day and I knew the reason was billing. In addition, his stories of hospitals suing patients were heartbreaking. This is one of the best books I have listened to in years. I just hope the medical industry would heed some of Dr. Makary's sage advice.

Full of truths that could revolutionize healthcare in America

Inspiring and informative, Marty explains the alarming problems with transparency, pricing (and price gouging) and other healthcare-related issues in language that average Americans like me can easily understand. He gives practical and actionable advice that can save us all significant money, time and unnecessary tests and procedures. Marty’s findings (and others’ mentioned in his book) should be the genesis for real healthcare change in America.

Actionable Reforms!

This book carefully analyzes the costs of healthcare, identifies the waste, fraud, and bad incentives, and then explains ways to fix the issues that are reasonable and actionable. Some players in healthcare are already doing some of these ideas. I’m glad that I am more aware of the problems and I will be wiser in my healthcare decisions and now have the knowledge to encourage my healthcare providers, pharmacies, and insurance company to better control costs as well. I’m hopeful that politicians, hospital boards, and medical school administrations will read this book and make reforms also. Thank you, Dr. Makary!

What an eye opener!

Everyone should read this! Really helps you understand the wasted money in health care. Definite must read

Info you need to know

Great info for the lay person and the professional. I will recommend this to friends family coworkers!

Clear and incomplete

Author the states the problem with significant clarity. As a physician who worked in three different continents i cannot agree more with the Author on how flawed the health care delivery in the United States is. So if one needs clarity on the problem this book is perfect for them. However his solutions are few and are biased. Infact many of the solutions that author proposes are being discussed by many policicy experts and politicians yet being shot down by the propagandists and politivians sold out to the lobbyists. Yet the author does not acknoloedge any of them but has a moment of praise for President Donald J Trump who has done nothing to entertain a reform. Despite all the criticism ACA holds it has done two very important things - 1. Removed Pre existing conditions as a barrier to obtain health insurance 2. Individual mandate which is the most important way of sharing the burden of health care cost. Ofcourse ACA is not perfect but it is a first step and will need to be appraised and improved. Author does not hide his critisism to ACA as well without ackowledging any good it has done. I expected more from the author. He is passionate but biased.I read better books on this subject.

Could not finish

He makes a lot of assumptions…. I don’t think he has the full story, just his observations, I liked his other book but this just feels blustery. Probably won’t finish as it’s frustrating to hear one sided hot air and not a lot of evidence.

sMarty!

Marty is the man! I wish more doctors had passion AND compassion like he does. Very well written book. I had to schedule an MRI today. Tomorrow I will be calling around for prices. Thank you, Marty, for all you are doing for patients and the healthcare industry as a whole!