Catastrophic care
how American health care killed my father--and how we can fix it
by David Goldhill · first published 2013
88% recommend13% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Argues that insurance-driven incentives, not medicine alone, push US healthcare prices up and quality down; readable and eye-opening for anyone wanting to understand the system's failures and possible fixes.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"A visionary and completely original investigation that will change the way we think about health care: how and why it is failing, why expanding insurance coverage will only make things worse, and how it can be transformed into a transparent, affordable, successful system. In 2007, David Goldhill's father died from a series of infections acquired in a well-regarded New York hospital. The bill was for several hundred thousand dollars--and Medicare paid it. These circumstances left Goldhill angry and determined to understand how it was possible that world-class technology and well-trained person
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…of HAI rates(Hospital Acquired Infections). Buried in a pile of books, surveys and studies during the passing of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) a few years ago, was an eminently readable book called Catastrophic Care: How American Health Care Killed My Father--and How We Can Fix It by David Goldhill. In 2007, David Goldhill's father, in good overall health, checked into the hospital with a minor case of pneumonia.…
on “Dallas health worker who tested positive for Ebola wore ‘full’ protective gear” ↗…checklists is enormous, and people's lives are on the line. Many people rightfully ask > Why has this not been adopted everywhere _yesterday_? A book I read a few years ago might have the answer. _Catastrophic Care: How American Health Care Killed My Father—and How We Can Fix It _ [0] Here's the description, to evaluate if you want to give it a read: > In 2007, David Goldhill's father died from a series of infections…
on “Post-surgical deaths in Scotland drop by a third, attributed to a checklist” ↗A book called Catastrophic Care came out recently. It's written by a guy named David Goldhill, who wrote a cover story for The Atlantic in 2009 on broken incentives in the healthcare industry that tend over time to push prices up and…
on “New Affordable Care US health plans will exclude top hospitals” ↗If you are interested in the various failures of the American health care system, I recommend reading Catastrophic Care by David Goldhill. It's a bit depressing, but eye-opening.
on “Emergency rooms are monopolies” ↗Yep. There's a book that does a good job outlining the main problems in the healthcare industry: "Catastrophic Care" by David Goldhill. https://www.amazon.com/dp/034580273X/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_-... The big issue, as you mention, is health insurance companies themselves. They aren't actual insurance companies—they…
on “Medicare will require hospitals to post prices online” ↗…reason why full time / full benefits wages have stayed relatively level. It's been hidden as well since folks don't normally understand how much their employer has to pay for their benefits. The book Catastrophic Care by Goldhill has a good take on this in my opinion. That said - there is a reason to be optimistic about all of this. If this demand pressures pushes to increase wages it might provide enough of an incentive…
on “America is pushing the labour market to its limits” ↗…blame for obscene costs and endless delays. This is very similar to the explanation for the American healthcare system's turmoil given by David Goldhill (founder of https://sesamecare.com/) in his book Catastrophic Care. Even for those that disagree with his recommendations, he delivers a great analysis of the perverse incentives that gave rise to the broken healthcare system.
on “Why Is Infrastructure So Expensive to Build in New York?” ↗There's a book called "Catastrophic Care" that directly addresses this question. It's an expansion of an article the same author wrote for The Atlantic (http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/09/how-amer...). And for a summary of the…
on “Aetna CEO Threatened Obamacare Pullout If Feds Opposed Humana Merger” ↗You described a big example in the book “Catastrophic Care: How American Health Care Killed My Father--and How We Can Fix It.” Highly recommend it. It’s got some great ideas.
on “Cities with Uber Have Lower Rates of Ambulance Usage” ↗This concept is addressed in the book “Catastrophic Care: How American Health Care Killed My Father--and How We Can Fix It.” Highly recommend it. It’s got some great ideas. And I've mostly just copy/pasted this from another comment I made recently. I really…
on “Why the U.S. Spends So Much More Than Other Nations on Health Care” ↗Often the least mentioned and discussed approach to solving the healthcare morass is the customer driver model of healthcare. David Goldhill is the author of Catastrophic Care: How American Health Care Killed My Father--and How We Can Fix It He advocates restricting the insurance system gradually and phasing out eventually, to increase accountability and vastly improve delivery…
on “Hacker News Folks Get Long Overdue Thanks” ↗…the topic: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/09/how-ame... Or (AFAIU, without having read it myself) a longer version of the argument presented in book-form at https://www.amazon.com/Catastrophic-Care-Everything-Think-He...
on “Why Infrastructure Is So Expensive” ↗