Oxymorons: The Myth of A U.S. Health Care System

Kleinke's book sets forth the reasons why the healthcare system does not function - he is clear and thorough, there is no whitewash. The dissection of healthcare system is especially cleansing and refreshing to readers who are tired of hearing about lack of access to adequate healthcare - Oxymorons explains the "why" by peeling the onion of the system to reveal the rotten root. In addition, Kleinke puts together a plan to revise the system and put therapeutic choice back in the hands of the physician and the patient, rather than the treatment-phobic payer. So often in the media we hear about overpriced pharmaceuticals and the cost of healthcare innovation. What we do not hear about is the plight of the physician who is hamstrung by payers from making therapeutic choices for patients. We hear about patients who look up new technologies on the internet for their conditions, but we do not hear about the payers who restrict patient access to innovation and science. Further, we do not hear about how payers purposefully shun simple and cost-effective electronic solutions to covering medically necessary treatment. As a result, payers are in the driver's seat to process claims inefficiently, make ad hoc coverage decisions, and make untimely and inappropriate payments to physicians and patients. Why don't we hear about these issues in the media? Why aren't electronic solutions embraced by the payer to increase the overall health of Americans while embracing the importance of physician decision-making and patient choice? Kleinke sets forth the rationale for the broken system.Wouldn't it be great if payers actually embraced technology to the benefit of patients and physicians? What would happen if payers empowered innovations in medicine for patients to the benefit of the practice of medicine and science, rather than hiding from electronic solutions for the sake of making a few more bucks on the stock market? What would happen if a system existed in which patients could make informed choices about their plans, rather than the employer, to control their own treatment plans in conjunction with their physicians? Kleinke lifts the veil for all to see, and what is there is not pretty, it's broken and counter-intuitive. While some readers might call this a negative book, many readers will find this a refreshing look at what is really there. It is thought-provoking and interesting, not just a sound byte to make everyone feel good.Oxymorons is an excellent follow-up to Kleinke's first book: "Bleeding Edge", a must read for anyone interested in learning more about healthcare and the economics of the system.

Oxymorons is the first book that dares to look at the whole mess that is the US health care system without a political or business agenda. The author explains exactly why the system is stuck in political and economic gridlock, and how this gridlock actually benefits all those denouncing it the loudest - the health insurance companies, consultants, lawyers, and various business schemers who make money on the system's complexity and dysfunction. After discrediting so much of the nonsense that pundits and policy types like to generate about health care using real data, Oxymorons then dares to put forth a concise and simple plan for how the federal government and a non-governmental non-partisan health benefits task force (notably not any one state government or any newfangled managed care scheme) can change a few simple rules, establish some actual standards, and flush out a lot of the waste that defines the non-system of health care in the US. Kudos to the author for calling it like he sees it, and still having the guts to propose a real solution.

Oxymorons is an outstanding book. It is very well written, interesting, comprehensive and insightful. Kleinke makes a compelling case of what is wrong with our employer-based health care system (which he calls dysfunctional). He argues that the best answer for the U. S. is to get employers out of the picture and come up with a counsumer-choice plan (through tax credits or other means, consumers purchase their own health plans). I especially liked Chapter 9 where Kleinke reviews where he is coming from. For a period of his life, he and his wife could not afford health insurance and were among the ranks of the uninsured. He tells what it is like to scrounge for antibiotics to fight a serious sinus infection, and other experiences in trying to receive health care without the ability to pay. Naturally, he is strongly in favor of some form of coverage for the 44 million people in the U. S. who are uninsured.In the last sentence of the book, Kleinke says that only three elements in health care really matter -- patients, caregivers and medical technologies, including new drugs. I would add money, or finance. It seems to me that the payment system is the primary driver of the fragmentation we are experiencing, and that most proposals for change in health care relate to financing. In conclusion, Kleinke has written a valuable book, and one that should generate plenty of discussion among those interested in the future of health care in the U. S.