The Price We Pay

Listener Reviews

1. 5.0(1)

   Such an important book. I wish every politician, doctor, insurance employee…..every person…would rea

   Our system needs change. So grateful for all those who are trying to make those changes.

   Paula Espinosa · January 12, 2025

2. 5.0(1)

   Eye opening

   I work in healthcare and have heard of a some of these issues but there was so much more that was shocking. The book is thorough and has solutions. It’s unbelievable that we allow these companies to operate this way and it has to stop. When you take your animal to the vet, you get an itemized estimate with high end and the breakdown of all they plan to do. You agree before they proceed. This could be the way for us to work in healthcare too. So we can know if the work is affordable and we want it or not. Thank you for this work!

   anysongsuz · September 25, 2024

3. 4.0(1)

   Goes over the symptoms, but not the root problem

   Dr. Makary and his team have done excellent work to find and expose many of the problems in our healthcare system. But like a lot of modern medicine, this book is focused on the symptoms rather than the root cause. I don't want to sound overly critical, because this is a great book that should be read by all voting Americans or anyone who plans to get medical treatment during their lifetime. However, it mostly fails to address the single most important cause of nearly all the problems highlighted in the book.

   Perhaps Dr. Makary was trying to avoid being too similar to Catastrophic Care by David Goldhill, which is referenced in this book. Both are necessary and 'must read' texts, but Catastrophic Care gets to the root of all the problems while The Price We Pay goes into depth about many of the symptoms created by the root cause.

   Analogy: If the American healthcare system is an obese patient with hypertension, diabetes, sleep apnea, and joint pain, The Price We Pay goes into depth about specific issues that cause each condition (blocked arteries, high blood sugar, obstructions around the airway, inflammation, etc) and how to remedy each separate condition with specific treatments, while Catastrophic Care ties all the symptoms to the root cause of obesity and explains how losing weight will likely get rid of all the symptoms and bring the patient back to a more healthy state.

   This is a great book and very worthy of your time and attention. But, in my opinion, it is secondary to Catastrophic Care in explaining the deficiencies of the American healthcare system. I highly suggest you read/listen to both books.

   Ashlie Campbell · March 24, 2023

4. 5.0(1)

   Great Read

   A great vantage point of American healthcare and it’s disparities. So many truths in this write up.

   Belinda Fisher · March 13, 2023

5. 5.0(1)

   Great information, I wish more within healthcare would read and heed.

   Many excellent points were brought up, from Medical education, to use of plain English from Doctor to Patient

   Shyanne Vega · February 10, 2023

6. 5.0(1)

   Deep and relevant insights into our health care .

   Really enjoyed and learned a lot. Thank you for your commitment and explanation about what's broken in our Healthcare system. Thank you Dr Makary!

   Jean Wiseman · October 24, 2021

7. 5.0(1)

   Info you need to know

   Great info for the lay person and the professional. I will recommend this to friends family coworkers!

   Victoria Carver · October 9, 2021

8. 5.0(1)

   Great informative book

   This is a really important book. The Big Short for healthcare Let's take these lessons and change direction.

   Angela Hartman · December 7, 2020