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Bleeding the Patient: The Consequences of Corporate Health Care by David Himmelstein, Steffie Woolhandler with Ida Hellander
Himmelstein, Steffie Woolhandler with Ida Hellander. This book explodes the myth that a market driven health care system delivers good medical care. Full of charts and graphs, Himmelstein and his collegues demonstrate that when heath care is treated as a commodity subjected to economic and market forces, that people less well off simply get less care. He explores the limitations of managed care and compares the delivery of health care in the US with other countries, including costs and outcomes. An exceptionally good argument propounding universal care.

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The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance by Laurie Garrett
Another scary, but scientifically detailed study of potentially devastating diseases, both new and emergent, and old and incurable. More comprehensive than The Hot Zone, Garrett also explores the reasons why some of these diseases are returning or becoming more dangerous. The disappointing revealation is that the re-emergence of disease is usually linked to some sort of human contribution. An unsettling book that will have you writing letters to your Health Department.

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The Complete Bedside Companion by Rodger McFarlane
A wonderful book full of advice, encouragement and hand holding for caregivers of the seriously ill. McFarlane sensitively articulates medical, legal, financial and emotional advice for friends and relatives caring for sufferers of cancer, Alzheimer's Disease, AIDS, stroke, diabetes, and a host of others. An outstanding and compassionate guide by a consumer advocate.

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Complete Idiot's Guide to Managed Health Care by Sophie M. Korczyk and Hazel A. Witte
Hard to find, but THE book to own if you want to find out how managed care works and why. Easy to read and understand, in the typical Idiot's Guide format, this book can help you do everything from compare plans to file an appeal for denied care.

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How to Play HMO Hardball by Robert D. Finney
Definitely a primer of hardball brinksmanship. Although Finney doesn't quite set the right tone, the advice he gives is on the mark most of the time. The writer is an MSW, but his lawyerly presentation is more adversarial than is necessary (or constructive). Still, following the advice given here, with some modification, may prevent you from suffering from denied care. Finney also presents material on how to avoid getting into difficulties with your health plan or physician in the first place.

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Managed Care Made Easy by Vikram Khanna
A truly consumer centered guide to what managed care is all about. Unbiased and unblinking, it explains the choices, terms, and rules associated with managed care in a consumer friendly way. Gives examples of letters, how to interview your doctor, the various types of managed care, how to compare plans, etc.

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Medical Bill Survival Guide by Pat Palmer
This book walks you through the nightmare known as hospital billing, and all that can go wrong with it. Figuring out billing errors is a job for those who have the time and the patience to figure out the coding and go through medical records line by line. But if you think you have been billed in error, this is the book for you. Explains how and why billing errors get recorded, and even how to prevent some.

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Social Transformation of Medicine by Paul Starr
Winner of several literary prizes, including the Pulitzer, this is a work of great scholarship and insight into the forces that have influenced the practice of medicine in America. Comprehensive and readable, it is regarded as a major reference work for anyone interested in the history of medicine (Part I) or the transformation of the medical profession into an industry.

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Some Choice: Law, Medicine and the Market by George Annas
Some Choice is by a patients. advocate writing about the controversial subject of ethics and law in America's health care system. Annas explains that what we view as choices are actually and illusions. The truly important choices, such as the way health care is financed in this country, or even how individuals access medical care, are out of patients' hands. Thought provoking, it touches on many bioethical issues, such as cloning, women's and children's health, tobacco in society, and choices in dying.

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