Jax Dunham

H&S 328

Section 2

Review: ​An American Sickness

Elisabeth Rosenthal, the author of ​An American Sickness​, has been an important voice in

the field of science throughout the past decade. Rosenthal, a formerly practicing physician

herself, has served as a voice of the wrongdoings of the healthcare system that we see presented

before us here in the United States of America. Through her years as a practicing physician and a

healthcare and science reporter, Rosenthal was able to experience first hand what the american

medical system was like. By taking her personal experience and knowledge and pairing it with

research and the personal experiences of others within our healthcare system, Rosenthal created a

comprehensive guide to better understanding the misconduct of the United States medical

industry in her 2017 New York Times Bestseller, ​An American Sickness​. In this book, Rosenthal

aims to inform those of the general public with an interest in public health how our medical

system functions. The book serves as a gateway to understanding this complex industry for those

who are not familiar with its depth and nuance. Upon reading this book, the reader is left with the

conclusion that our nation must actively work to find solutions to the immoral system of

healthcare that we currently operate under to ensure that our citizens can receive the care they

need at a reasonable price. This book served as a call to action and inspired me to look further

into our healthcare system to find solutions to better our future.

When reading the first few chapters, the reader gets a sense for what theme is to present

itself throughout the remainder of the book. The main theme of this book is that the healthcare

system that the United States operates within has started to function more as a business with
interests lying in revenue and spending rather than in patient care and outcomes. This idea of

healthcare operating as a business can be reflected by Doty (2005) which states, “2003

Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey reveals that an estimated 77 million

Americans age 19 and older— nearly two of five (37%) adults—have difficulty paying medical

bills, have accrued medical debt, or both.Working-age adults incur significantly higher rates of

medical bill and debt problems than adults 65 and older, with rates highest among the

uninsured.” Rosenthal encaptures this main and recurring theme by formatting her book in a way

which analyzes a different sector of the United States healthcare system in each chapter. Whether

it is based around pharmaceuticals, billing and coding, insurance, or hospitals, each chapter in ​An

American Sickness​ delves deep into each topic. These chapters include tangible evidence of

moral wrongdoing throughout the book. This is done by including data, statistics, personal

experiences (from the author, patients, and others in the medical field), and history with regards

to the medical field in the United States. By including this format throughout the span of the

book, Rosenthal helps to create credibility to the information she is providing. If the author

included her personal experience without this additional information or testimonials, it would

appear as though there could have been bias. However, with the inclusion of this information

from outside sources, it decreases the chance of perceived bias through credibility.

An American Sickness ​is split into two main sections. First is the section which describes

how the healthcare system has failed the patient with regards to insurance, pharmaceuticals,

hospital care, and more as described above. The second section, on the other hand, describes how

we, as patients, citizens, and public health workers can do our part to change the healthcare

system that is not serving us here in the United States. As described by Rosenthal, the first part

of the book “is a call to arms, as well as a roadmap for us to fight back personally, politically,
and systematically” whereas the second part of the book “is a blueprint and game plan for

changing both our relationship with the medical system and the system itself.” This section of the

book uses the information that was presented in the first section and introduces how the reader

can use this knowledge to spark change in the United States healthcare system. This section

further utilizes statistics and data to formulate and propose well thought out solutions to the

issues discussed in the first section of the book. This allows for the reader to reflect on their

learnings so that they may better use their education for action.

When analyzing the contents of ​An American Sickness​, it is easy to see why the work has

become a New York Times best seller. This book covers a breadth of information about the

healthcare system in a comprehensive and statistically moral way. ​An American Sickness

acquires its information from a plethora of sources from scientific articles to personal

experiences. This shows the reader that the subject matter is less susceptible to bias by creating a

very objective means to looking at our current healthcare system. Rosenthal also did a fantastic

job by including the second part in this book which touches on how to incite change within the

healthcare system. The author could have made two separate books with the subject matter

contained in the book, but she chose to include the second part to allow the reader to better

reflect on what they have just learned. This shows the detail in which Rosenthal went to inform

the people of the United States how they can make their healthcare system work for them rather

than against them.

If there were to be one critique of this book, it would be that there were times when the

subject matter seemed too repetitive or too comprehensive. Though the immense amounts of

knowledge that were shared to the reader gave the reader just enough information at most times,

there were others when it felt as if the book would use language or vocabulary that those
unfamiliar with the medical field or public health may find confusing. Though this information is

all valuable, the use of very specific and specialized language could serve as a barrier to entry for

someone without that knowledge prior to reading. The goal of ​An American Sickness i​ s to create

a more informed population so that we can make the changes necessary to move forward with

and improve our healthcare system. However, this use of advanced and specialized language

may lead a reader to feel confused or uncomfortable when reading the book which could lead to

less people reading the book and, thus, a less informed population with regards to the United

States healthcare system.

An American Sickness p​ rovided content that was directly related to the curriculum that

reinforced that which I had learned earlier in this semester. One common theme that Rosenthal

touched on was that of public health law. Due to the fact that our healthcare system is directly

incorporated into federal and state laws, Rosenthal touches on laws such as the Affordable Care

Act quite frequently throughout this book. This allowed for me to become a lot more familiar

with how the government mandates and monitors the healthcare system in the United States. I

was also able to better learn how the health system functions as a unit. Learning how the hospital

system bills insurance companies was really eye opening into how our healthcare system tends to

function like a business instead of an institution which provides care was very eye opening.

This book also happened to be very appropriate to read during the current political

climate that we have been experiencing. Though I had done research on the healthcare system in

the past, Rosenthal’s ​An American Sickness s​ erved as an invaluable comprehensive guide for me

to be better able to distinguish my viewpoints with regards to the topic of healthcare. With

constant talk of a replacement for the Affordable Care Act senate, I was interested in the topic,

and this reading has allowed for me to become a more knowledgeable and informed citizen. This
book mixed with the current misunderstanding have actually inspired me to become more

involved with avenues in which I can make a change for our healthcare system here in the United

States.

When first opening this book, I was not sure where the author would lead the

conversation. I was weary of bias, and I thought that the book would simply skim over most of

the topics that I am interested related to healthcare. However, upon reading ​An American

Sickness,​ I was truly shocked at how extensive the author was with their descriptions of each

notable sector within the healthcare system from insurance to pharmaceuticals and medical

devices. The author attempted to be as objective as possible by providing research and real life

experiences from patients and those in the medical system alike. The book excelled at providing

a knowledge based and solution oriented format to take the reader’s learning to the next level

through real world implementation. Given the current state of our healthcare system in the

political environment, Rosenthal did a great job at helping me better understand where our

morals should lie as future patients and people. Above all, ​An American Sickness​ demonstrated

how the health and wellbeing of our people should not be a part of a business model or be

political when it comes to patient care. All people in the United States should demand more for

the health of themselves and the health of their morals.

 Works Cited

Doty, M., Edwards, J., & Holmgren, A. (2005, August). Seeing Red: Americans Driven into

Debt by Medical Bills. Retrieved December 06, 2020, from ___media_files_publications

_issue_brief_2005_aug_seeing_red__americans_driven_into_debt

_by_medical_bills_837_doty_seeing_red_medical_debt_pdf

Rosenthal, E. (2018). ​An American sickness: How healthcare became big business and how you

can take it back.​ New York: Penguin Books.