Before one can make a cure, one has to get the right diagnosis. This book is an outstanding addition to the debate on fixing American healthcare with its thoughtful exposure of myths with well researched reality. It is a must read for the public, payers, physicians and policy makers.

J. James Rohack M.D, director, Scott and White Center for Healthcare Policy

A realistic perspective on our health care system that is highly informative yet refreshingly optimistic when it comes to needed change.

Steven A. Wartman M.D., PhD, president and chief executive officer, Association of Academic Health Centers

How exhilarating it is to read a book on health care policy that dispels delusions-that prevention always saves money, that we can stop growth of health care spending without rationing, that doctors always know what they are doing, that the uninsured and poor always get at least emergency care, and the biggest delusion of all-that there is no politically achievable way to extend health insurance coverage to all Americans.

Henry J. Aaron, The Brookings Institution

I could not put this book down! Every American should read it!

Wayne Turnage, Deputy Chief of Staff for Virginia Governor Tim Kaine

Health care now accounts for one-sixth of the entire US economy, yet it is misunderstood by almost everyone. By challenging common myths about health care, Garson and Engelhard artfully help readers of all levels of expertise gain a far better appreciation of the strengths as well as the problems of our health care system.

Stuart M. Butler, vice president for domestic policy, The Heritage Foundation

A much-needed dose of realism, this state-of-the-policy report should be required reading for anyone weighing in on the debate over health-care reform, especially students of health policy. Dean Garson and policy analyst Engelhard show how both defenders and opponents of the current American health-care system rely on false truisms and lazy thinking, such as the idea that most health-care dollars are spent in the last six months of life, or that consumer choice automatically improves care. Members of Congress cling to the hope that quality improvement programs or more preventive care will save enough money to bail out Medicare and other programs, but Garson and Engelhard expose the flaws in these arguments. Thanks largely to its well-thought-out structure, this book makes a surprisingly quick read; in the introduction, for example, the authors' myth vs. reality chapter descriptions make for easy browsing and reference. The sheer number of misconceptions exposed and the seemingly intractable dysfunction of the health-care system as a whole result in a sobering tour, but the final chapter proposes some sound, if occasionally controversial, solutions. Though more general readers may balk at some tedious hair-splitting, this title successfully flushes the plaque from the hardened arteries of the country's health-care dialogue.

Publishers Weekly