Introduction (4 pages)
A quick look at the American health care system, the most expensive medical system on earth, and what's wrong with it. Chapter 1. History of Health Care in the U.S. (20 pages)
- A quick history of health care insurance.
- America's breathtaking rise of medical care costs.
- Growth of Medicare and Medicaid.
- Political primer on health care reform.
- Passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and continuing political and judicial threats (more in Chapter 11) - Supreme Court Decision on the ACA (more in Chapter 11)
- Health care reform summary, schedule.
Chapter 2. Early Changes (16 pages)
- Temporary exchanges.
- New insurance guarantees for children.
- Young adults get extension on parents' policies.
- Insurance rate reviews.
- Bans on cutting and capping coverage.
- Filling Medicare's donut hole.
- "Sin tax" on tanning services.
- Tax breaks for small businesses.
Chapter 3. New Personal Insurance Options (20 pages)
- Grandfathered policies.
- Insurance exchanges.
- Individual mandate.
- Pre-existing conditions.
- Rights to appeal, choose doctor and preventive care.
- Tax credits.
Chapter 4. Insurance Options for Businesses (20 pages)
- Early tax credits for small businesses.
- Requirements for coverage and penalties.
- Small business insurance exchanges.
- Early retirees.
Chapter 5. Changes in Insurance Market Rules, Regulations (18 pages)
- Medical loss ratios.
- Guaranteed coverage.
- Limits on rate variations.
- Minimum coverage, preventive care.
- Insurance co-ops.
- Accountable Care Organizations.
Chapter 6. Changes to Medical Practices (18 pages)
- Medical errors.
- Hospital readmission rates.
- Medical homes.
- Accountable Care Organizations.
- Doctor shortages.
- Evidence based practice.
- Safety net hospitals.
- Financial disclosure rules for doctors.
Chapter 7. Medicare Outlook (10 pages.)
- Where Medicare stands and how it works.
- Medicare savings estimates.
- Quality controls
- Cost cutting
- Medicare Advantage plans.
- Long-term projections for Medicare.
- Medicare reform proposals.
Chapter 8. Medicaid Outlook (10 pages)
- Where Medicaid stands and how it works.
- Supreme Court ruling.
- Planned Medicaid expansion.
- State-by-state impact.
- Long term care.
- Medicaid waivers for co-pays and other experiments.
Chapter 9. Communicating Changes to the Public (10 pages)
- Misconceptions.
- Health literacy.
- Provisions for bridging communication gaps.
- New sources of information.
- Nutritional labels.
Chapter 10. The Cost and Who Pays (10 pages)
- Medicare tax increase.
- Cadillac insurance tax.
- Private insurance tax.
- Pharmaceutical company tax.
- Medical device tax.
- Other revenue sources.
Chapter 11. Efforts to Repeal Reform (10 pages)
- Supreme Court ruling and individual mandate.
- Continuing lawsuits.
- Republican efforts at repeal and replacement.
- Health care under Ryan budget.
- States oppose and implement reforms at the same time.
- Future of health care r
About the Author: Dave Parks has more than 25 years of experience as a journalist and has earned numerous awards for his coverage of some of the most important medical issues of our time. His investigative reporting about health problems found but ignored in veterans of the 1991 Persian Gulf War led to a White House investigation, Congressional hearings and changes in how the military medically screens troops before and after battle. He has written in-depth, groundbreaking stories about cancer survivorship, health disparities, cervical cancer prevention and liver transplantation. He has worked as an editor and writer in the Midwest and Southeast and traveled to some of the deepest reaches of Africa to cover the AIDS pandemic. He is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists and American Medical Writers Association.
