—Unsettling and cruel tactics that actors in the healthcare industry use to profit lucratively off patients, and how to resist—
The Non-fiction Feature
An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You can Take It Back
Author: Elisabeth Rosenthal
Publisher: Penguin Books
Pages: 432 | 2018
Imagine if you paid for an airplane ticket and then got separate and inscrutable bills from the airline, the pilot, the copilot, and the flight attendants. That’s how the healthcare market works…
The price of a Prius at a dealership in Princeton, New Jersey, is not five times higher than what you would pay for a Prius in Hackensack. The price of that car at the very same dealer doesn’t depend on your employer, or if you’re self-employed or unemployed. Why does it matter for healthcare?
The Memoir & Poetry Spot
Something for the Pain: One Doctor’s Account of Life and Death in the ER
by Paul Austin
“If I had my way, we’d just total up the costs: rehab, trauma, and medical care. Then tax alcohol sales accordingly. Let the cost of a six-pack or a bottle of wine reflect the true cost to society. Use the money to pay for rehab. But I don’t have my way. I’m just the guy who has to ask an alcoholic or a crack addict if he has insurance.”
The Product Spot
Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs Company
Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drug Company expands access to safe, affordable medicines by cutting out the pharmacy middlemen.