The Hidden History of American Healthcare

 The Hidden History of American Healthcare, Thom Hartmann, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 2021

Why does every major industrialized country, except America, have some sort of national health insurance system? This book attempts to answer that question.

In the early 20th century, around 1915, the Woodrow Wilson Administration attempted to bring national health insurance to America (based on the German model under the Kaiser). It's failure can be blamed on Frederick Hoffmann of the Prudential Insurance Co, of America. He wrote all sorts of articles and pamphlets, emphasizing all the bad parts of the German system, and the British, which had started a few years previously. National health insurance would supposedly destroy the Daniel Boone spirit of individuality in America (sound familiar?). Today, the insurance industry has plenty of money to spend on Washington lobbyists to make sure that it stays that way.

Everyone has seen, or read, ads for Medicare Advantage health plans. The compete with, but have no connection to, traditional Medicare. Such plans get a lump-sum reimbursement each year from the government, so it is in their interest to make their patients look as sick as possible. Patients get a yearly visit from a nurse. A slight anomaly in a patient's heart rhythm, which doesn't affect the patient at all, is listed as Heart Attack (more money). An emotional problem that lasts more than 2 weeks becomes Major Depressive Episode (more money). This goes along with the usual denial of coverage the first time around. A number of sources report the government overpayments to these plans is in the billions of dollars each year. Also, switching from Medicare Advantage to traditional Medicare is impossible; you are locked in.

This is a short book, but it is a huge eye-opener. It is highly recommended for all Americans, and gets more than 5 stars. 

Rebooting the American Dream

Rebooting the American Dream: 11 Ways to Rebuild Our Country, Thom Hartmann, Barrett-Koehler Publishers, 2010

When a computer is acting up, the first thing to do is reboot and start over. America's operating system, which has worked pretty well until recently, was weakened by Reaganomics, and then by policies from Clinton and the Bushes. This book tells how America can reboot and restore.

Manufacturing is the only way for a country to build wealth. The service economy, or simply moving money from place to place, does not build national wealth nearly as well. Adam Smith and Alexander Hamilton knew it, but we seem to have forgotten it. For instance, where is the advantage in needing parts from China to build a missile or aircraft carrier to defend Taiwan against a Chinese attack?

A little-known study done by the chairman of the libertarian Cato Institute showed that the Reagan and Bush tax cuts actually grew the size of the federal government. The higher pre-Reagan tax rates and the increased taxes under Clinton actually shrank the size of the federal government.

Reagan's decision to stop enforcing the Sherman Anti-Trust Act has led to a huge growth in the size of oligarchic corporations that dominate all parts of the economy. It has led to the devastation of local economies. Are cheap, mass-produced goods really more important than a healthy local economy? Hartmann asserts that the Sherman Anti-Trust Act needs to be re-enforced and America needs to return to the "trust busting" policies of Theodore Roosevelt.

It is wrong to think that America can forcefully impose democracy and an opensociety on the rest of the world. If they think that democracy is such a great idea, they will steal the idea and do it themselves. The problem is not "illegal immigration," the problem is American employers who pay much lower wages than an American worker would receive. There are few ways to reverse bad Supreme Court decisions, like the Citizens United decision, except by advocating for a Constitutional amendment.

This is an excellent book. It's interesting and easy to read, and it's written with passion. It is very much worth the time.