This Can Kill You: Healthcare in America in Transition

By Dr. Brian Casull

As a physician and now Physician Executive with 40+ years in service supporting the patient, I share the passion and concern about the current health care law of the land the Affordable Care Act. Having supported our men and women in uniform for over thirty years as physician, Commander and Medical Director, I feel compelled to speak out. In fact, I feel so strongly about the issue of providing affordable healthcare to many of our vulnerable fellow Americans that I am self-publishing a discussion of Healthcare in America. I was nudged "into the fray" so to speak by a comment from a sitting Congressman-'No one every died from lack of health care.'. The fact that vulnerable Americans might be at risk of the ultimate negative health care result (death) continued to trouble me. There is much about healthcare that hasn't been discussed. We should concentrate on the confounding variables. I have even become so bold as to offer some advice. Like you and many other Americans, what motivates me is to do what is right. A U.S. Congressman said 'Nobody dies because they don't have access to healthcare.' REALLY? In the PROLOG, the stage is set for the link between the risk of death and the lack of healthcare insurance.In CHAPTER ONE, we learn about the typical political "Side Step"-now you see me now you don't. The Walk Back or Double Down which is the standard procedure on both sides of the political aisle. .CHAPTER TWO briefly discusses the Affordable Care Act-the basis for all the controversy. Moving on to CHAPTER THREE we ask:WHAT JUST HAPPENED? This will lead to a discussion and simplification of The House passed American Health Care Act to promote better understanding. CHAPTER FOUR discuses the DOWN STREAM IMPACT-both seen and unseen. In CHAPTER FIVE we suggest why you should TRUST ME I'M A DOCTOR. This chapter is about the the author. In CHAPTER SIX we join Clara Peller in asking-WHERE'S THE BEEF? In other words, we will discuss Data to be applied to the discussion. CHAPTER SEVEN we cut to the chase AT THE END OF THE DAY to show what the data actually support in regards to the relationship between mortality and the lack of health care. We will introduce Case Studies to bring the subject to the where the rubber hits the road for most Americans. At the individual patient level. The EPILOG is The summary. We finish with RECOMMENDATIONS:One Physician Executive's thoughts on how Health Care in America might be best transitioned.The Facts"The VA's inspector general found that out of about 800,000 records stalled in the agency's system for managing health care enrollment, there were more than 307,000 records that belonged to veterans who had died months or years in the past. When adjusted for the number of Veterans who have access to the VA Health Care System, three percent of Veterans may have died due to impeded access to care.MEDICAID-The largest drop is from changes to Medicaid; the AHCA would cut the program by 14 million people by 2026, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The New England Journal of Medicine in 2012 analyzed the effects of Medicaid expansion on adult mortality in several states and found a connection between access to Medicaid and reduced mortality. The exact figure was a 6.1% reduction in mortality.AT THE END OF THE DAY There are 271,437 deaths per year from the top preventable health-related causes. Based on CBO predictions and the literature, If six percent have their preventable death from lack of healthcare insurance-16,558 Americans could die from being UNINSURED or UNDERINSUED each year.So yes, Congressman, people can die from lack of health care. THIS CAN KILL YOU.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1090321902
• ISBN13: 9781090321909
• Release Date: March 2019
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 117 Pages
• Weight: 0.51 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.3" x 6.0"