New book aims to unscramble health care policy for all
Nationally recognized Washington Policy Center Health Care Policy Analyst Dr. Roger Stark, MD, FACS releases new book to simplify the complexity of health care policy
SEATTLE – Soon for the millions of Americans who rank health care as a top concern, health care policy will be easier to understand thanks to the release today of the new book, Health Care Policy Simplified; Understanding a Complex Issue. The book is the work of nationally recognized Health Care Policy Analyst for Washington Policy Center (WPC), Dr. Roger Stark MD, FACS, and is designed to make health care policy, problems, and solutions understandable for those outside of the medical field or medical insurance industry.
“Bad policy is protected and even promoted when the health care system is too complicated to understand,” explained Dr. Stark, who has led WPC’s health care policy work for the last decade. “The purpose of this book was to make health care policy simple and give everyone who wants it a tool to advocate for better reforms that respect their individual choices.”
Health Care Policy Simplified was written and designed to be both comprehensive and easily accessible. The book is divided into stand-alone chapters that allow the reader to learn about health care policy in the order that best suits their needs. Dr. Stark provides an overview of the history of health care in the U.S., an international comparison of other countries’ health care systems, key challenges to health care entitlements, and free-market reforms that would improve our system and reduce costs.
“People often miss the scope and complexity of health care policy challenges because they view health care policy as a whole through the relatively narrow window of their own individual experience,” explained Dr. Stark, “With this book, I’m trying to give everyone a birds-eye view of the entire system, how they interact with it, and the potential for the future.
Health Care Policy Simplified; Understanding a Complex Issue is available now on amazon.com.
Endorsements:
“Most Americans know more about the costs of their cell phone plan than their health plan. Consumers make better decisions and get better service when they have control of their choices. Dr. Roger Stark does an outstanding job of explaining how health care in America grew into a highly bureaucratic system driven by government programs. In other words, things only get worse if we put the government entirely in control of our health care system. Dr. Stark lays out solutions that put patients back in control." -- Former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker
"In a very readable and easily understood book, Dr. Stark presents a strong case for less government and more patient control in our health care system. He provides the history that brought the country to this point of ever-rising health care costs….” – The late Oklahoma U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, MD
“I am always looking for practical solutions to the problems our country faces.Dr. Stark outlines the enormous burden the government has placed on our health care delivery system, and, more importantly, describes solutions that put patients in charge of their own health care decisions – not the government.His book is another example of the excellent work the Washington Policy Center produces.” – Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)
“Dr Stark gives and important overview of what we currently have and what paths we need to take – from the perspective of someone who has actually delivered medical care.That perspective is usually lacking in health policy discussions – and this book is an important addition for that reason.” – Representative Andy Harris, MD, Chair of the GOP Doctors Caucus (R-Maryland)
Topic questions:
- How does the U.S. health care system compare to health care systems in other countries?
- What do our current government health care systems tell us about what a single payer plan would look like in the U.S.?
- How do we fix our mental health system and how much does that have to do with the opiate addiction crisis?
- Whose fault is that U.S. prescription drugs so expensive and what should be done about it?
- How effective has the Affordable Care Act/Obamacare been in bringing down health care costs and expanding access to health care?
- What are some of the free-market innovations that will bring down healthcare costs?
- With COVID-19, we saw a shortage of medical equipment, are we poised to soon see a shortage of doctors?
- Most people obtain their health insurance through their employer. Why would you change that?