| Medicare Matters: What Geriatric Medicine Can Teach American Health Care Contributor(s): Cassel, Christine (Author) |
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ISBN: 0520246241 ISBN-13: 9780520246249 Publisher: Perseus - Ucal Pod OUR PRICE: $31.50 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: January 2005 * Not available - Not in print at this time *Annotation: "I read Christine Cassel's new book and loved it. "Medicare Matters is now the definitive book on Medicare. It explains, critiques, praises and expounds on Medicare with breadth, clarity, insight and an occasional flash of dry humor. It will be the book to read to understand where Medicare has been and it will be a needed stimulant for heated but fully informed discussions about where Medicare should be going. This book will have a significant impact on the debate ahead. It's a great book."--George C. Halvorson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Medical | Medicaid & Medicare - Health & Fitness | Health Care Issues |
| Dewey: 368.426 |
| LCCN: 2005011748 |
| Physical Information: 0.88" H x 6.34" W x 9.22" (1.11 lbs) 272 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Savvy, comprehensive, and authoritative, this book, written by a physician with more than thirty years' experience caring for elderly patients, assesses the current state and the future prospects of Medicare, perhaps the most influential health care program of our time. Christine K. Cassel draws upon the latest developments in science and medicine in a sweeping analysis of Medicare's social, demographic, institutional, political, and policy contexts. Writing in accessible language, using case studies to illustrate how policies translate to everyday lives, and applying lessons from the practice of geriatric medicine, Cassel makes a powerful argument for reforming and modernizing Medicare. She offers a new vision of what healthy aging could be and delineates what is needed to reach this vision, including changes in the medical sector, in the policy arena, and in our cultural beliefs about aging. Cassel sheds light on a wide range of issues pertaining to Medicare, including debates about coverage and the looming deficit in the Medicare Trust Fund. Perhaps the most controversial issue she addresses is the challenge of rationing some kinds of care. Anchoring her discussion of Medicare in the idea that care for the elderly represents a social contract between government and its citizens, Cassel describes both the principles and potential of a progressive approach to geriatric medicine. She further argues that with this approach, we can also address the chronic problems of our larger health care system and provide all Americans, no matter what their age, with high-quality and affordable medical care. |