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TL/DR: New book by Elizabeth Rosenthal about the US health care system that pretty much everyone here should own.

Rosenthal's a former practicing MD turned NYT reporter turned editor for Kaiser Health News. She's also a mother with kids (at least one has had some serious health issues) and older parents. IMO this is important because she's had to deal with nearly every aspect of health care and has the training to understand it.

The book breaks down into two parts. The first part looks at our system piece by piece, focusing on where it's broken. It's definitely written in a longer form NYT style, and is well done. Her political preference is pretty clearly Democrat, and I think this throws a lot of reviewers off. A lot of the reviews I've seen miss that she blames both sides for our current situation and isn't presenting any simplistic solutions. The first part of the book is good and informative, and isn't the reason you should buy it.

The second part is where she makes her money, and why pretty much all of you Americans should own it. She makes some policy proposals but most importantly she gives practical advice on how to navigate our complex healthcare system and how to minimize medical bills. She breaks the advice down into bite sized pieces and it's applicable whether you have health insurance through your employer, on the Obamacare exchanges, or Medicare.

IMHO this is a book you'll want to keep a dog eared copy of; if you're married this will hopefully spur some discussions that will save your family pocketbook if someone in your family has to take a trip to the hospital. On Medicare or have parents on Medicare? You need to know about the Two Midnight rule. She goes over it and how to protect your wallet.

Here's some of her advice you can read for free: https://tincture.io/how-to-save-money-a ... 356b5ecd55
Her advice in the book is both more in depth and specific. I've bought extra copies and given them to family-- not kidding. It'll cost you 20 bucks to own. Unexpected medical bills-- generally a lot more than 20 bucks. You need to read this book before you get Cosby'd in the wallet.

Thanks, saw her on Cspan.