The American way of health

by Janice Castro

American leaders speak of providers. Access. Alliances. Competition. Mandates. As the debate on health-care reform continues, many of us struggle to understand what on earth the experts and policymakers are talking about. To find answers to even our most basic questions - How much will it cost? Can I see my own doctor? Will my medical services be cut? - requires digging through impossibly complicated technical talk. In the meantime we now spend $31,500 a second on medical care, more than $2.7 billion a day, $1 trillion a year. Unchecked, the bill will more than double in the next ten years. The one thing we do know is that something has got to give. . In a brisk and readable style, Janice Castro - who has been covering health care at Time for over a decade - examines American health care, discusses the leading models for reform, and tells us what we would gain and lose with each. Managed-care plans are already transforming private health insurance across the nation, and Janice Castro s