Uninsured in America: Life and Death in the Land of Opportunity

From Booklist

Sered, an anthropologist, and Fernandopulle, a doctor specializing in public-health policy, provide a troubling look at Americans without health insurance, some of whom must choose between food and medical treatment. They interviewed more than 120 uninsured Americans in Texas, Mississippi, Idaho, Illinois, and Massachusetts as well as physicians, administrators, and health-policy officials. The result is a collection of heartrending stories of the “caste of the ill, the infirm, and the marginally employed.” The authors describe the “death spiral” of people who lack insurance for myriad reasons–including self-employment and divorce–and whose illnesses cannot be adequately treated. Their medical conditions inevitably deteriorate–small tumors metastasize, diabetes leads to amputation or dialysis treatments–increasing both the costs and the dire consequences. Once individuals are caught in the death spiral, they are unlikely to find a way out. The ultimate impact of this shocking crisis is felt by all Americans in the form of higher health-care costs and more antibiotic-resistant bacteria as conditions go untreated. This is a stark and disturbing book. Vanessa BushCopyright 漏 American Library Association. All rights reserved
–This text refers to the

Hardcover
edition.

Review

“If Upton Sinclair aimed for the public’s heart and hit its stomach instead, Sered and Fernandopulle’s discussion of caste lands an unnerving shot to the mouth…. Introducing meaningful change into the health-care system will take work from all quarters; and academics like Sered and Fernandopulle…have an indispensable role to play in that effort.” Benjamin Healy, New Republic “A moving account of what it is like to be ‘uninsured in America.’ May it awaken the conscience of the nation.” David U. Himmelstein, M.D., and Steffie Woolhandler, M.D., MPH, Journal of the American Medical Association “A vivid, indignant, and important book, and it does one thing better than any other before: Uninsured makes the abandoned millions visible again. Read it.” Atul Gawande, M.D., author of Complications”

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