Peter A. Ubel Bücher

An informed argument for reworking the broken market-based U.S. healthcare system by making cost and quality more transparent The United States has the most expensive healthcare system in the world. While policy makers have argued over who is at fault for this, the system has been quietly moving toward high-deductible insurance plans that require patients to pay large amounts out of pocket before insurance kicks in. The idea behind this shift is that patients will become better consumers of healthcare when forced to pay for their medical expenses. Laying bare the perils of the current situation, Peter A. Ubel--a physician and behavioral scientist--notes that even when patients have time to shop around, healthcare costs remain largely opaque, difficult to access, and hard to compare. Arguing for a middle path between a market-based and a completely free system, Ubel envisions more transparent, smarter healthcare plans that tie the prices of treatments to the value they provide so that people can afford to receive the care they deserve.

Examining health care rationing through multiple lenses, this book addresses ethical dilemmas, economic implications, psychological factors, and clinical realities. It provides a comprehensive analysis of how resources are allocated in health care, encouraging readers to consider the complexities of decision-making in a system with limited resources. The exploration of these diverse perspectives aims to foster a deeper understanding of the challenges and responsibilities involved in health care delivery.

Humans just aren't entirely rational creatures.We decide to roll over and hit the snooze button instead of going to the gym. We take out home loans we can't possibly afford. And did you know that people named Paul are more likely to move to St. Paul than other cities? All too often, our subconscious causes us to act against our own self-interest.But our free-market economy is based on the assumption that we always do act in our own self-interest. In this provocative book, physician Peter Ubel uses his understanding of psychology and behavior to show that in some cases government must regulate markets for our own health and well-being. And by understanding and controlling the factors that go into our decisions, big and small, we can all begin to stop the damage we do to our bodies, our finances, and our economy as a whole.Ubel's vivid stories bring his message home for anyone interested in improving the way our society works.