"Winner of the Gold Medal in Business Ethics, Axiom Business Book Awards" Uwe E. Reinhardt (1937–2017) was the James Madison Professor of Political Economy and Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton University, where he taught for nearly fifty years. He wrote a regular column for the New York Times blog Economix.
From a giant of health care policy, an engaging and enlightening account of why American health care is so expensive-and why it doesn't have to be
Uwe Reinhardt was a towering figure and moral conscience of health care policy in the United States and beyond. Famously bipartisan, he advised presidents and Congress on health reform and originated central features of the Affordable Care Act. In Priced Out, Reinhardt offers an engaging and enlightening account of today's U.S. health care system, explaining why it costs so much more and delivers so much less than the systems of every other advanced country, why this situation is morally indefensible, and how we might improve it.
The problem, Reinhardt says, is not one of economics but of social ethics. There is no American political consensus on a fundamental question other countries settled long ago: to what extent should we be our brothers' and sisters' keepers when it comes to health care? Drawing on the best evidence, he guides readers through the chaotic, secretive, and inefficient way America finances health care, and he offers a penetrating ethical analysis of recent reform proposals. At this point, he argues, the United States appears to have three stark choices: the government can make the rich help pay for the health care of the poor, ration care by income, or control costs. Reinhardt proposes an alternative path: that by age 26 all Americans must choose either to join an insurance arrangement with community-rated premiums, or take a chance on being uninsured or relying on a health insurance market that charges premiums based on health status.
An incisive look at the American health care system, Priced Out dispels the confusion, ignorance, myths, and misinformation that hinder effective reform. "With the posthumous publication this month of his final work, a book entitled Priced Out: The Economic and Ethical Costs of American Health Care, Reinhardt's reputation for cutting to the quick of the issues in U.S. healthcare reform is only enhanced. The book should be required reading for anyone who professes to have an interest in the debate - economists, journalists, legislators, doctors and patients."---Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times "Reinhardt's new book gives a cogent synthesis of all the reasons why 'it's the prices, stupid'-not the quantity of care we receive-that drives our high health spending."---Adam Gaffney, Boston Review "There are numerous moments in this book that will remind readers like myself how much we will miss both his colorful imagery and his brutal candor . . . . One wonders after reading it how to ensure that the book achieves the broad distribution it deserves, especially among the young people and newly minted legislators and members of Congress who will not get a chance to hear Reinhardt in person . . . . We owe Uwe Reinhardt a large debt of gratitude. Buy and read his last book. Then give it to a younger friend."---Jeff Goldsmith, Health Affairs "Wish I could afford to buy a copy for every adult in the U.S. If healthcare matters to you, please read it." "Uwe's book can be enjoyed by, and be illuminating for, students, policymakers, the media, and the health care establishment. The only problem is that he can't follow it up with a book tour and educate his audiences in person with the best PowerPoint presentations I have ever seen."---Gerard Anderson, StatNews "Priced Out . . . combines scholarly, in-depth analysis with rich insight, delightfully sharp humor, and deep moral seriousness - all in consistently clear, engaging prose."---Donald Gilpin, Princeton Magazine "As always, Uwe Reinha
