“Some are rich and some are poor. Some are beautiful, some aren’t. Some are brilliant, some aren’t. But when we get sick—then, everybody is equal. Everybody must have equal right to the best medical treatment we can provide.”
With his brilliant, sweeping wit, T.R Reid tackles the enormous task of analyzing the American healthcare system with his New York Times bestseller The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care. Reid expounds upon the healthcare system of six different countries (France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, and India), and draws comparisons between these system models and that of the United States. Reid argues that the American system represents a patchwork of these other systems, depending on whether you’re a working adult, a retired person over 65, or someone who cannot afford insurance. Needless of your identity, he argues that the system fails our citizens and criticizes the fact that the current American model acts more as a market than a system.
I was first introduced to this book when its epilogue was assigned reading for my class INTL 340: Global Health & Development. Intrigued by Reid’s powerful claims, I decided to seek out this book at the library and read the rest of it. Reid’s arguments were so clearly organized and vocabulary was comprehensible enough that even a freshman with a background in biology (not the social sciences) was able to understand it. I think this is a great book for patients, healthcare administrators, and the healthcare professionals if you want to to get a better understanding of this complex and prevalent issue.
Reviewed by: Angelica Mejia
