UPCOMING BOOK: "A DEATH IN THE CITY: QUESTIONING THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN HEALTHCARE"

Judy Packevicz of tiny Glens Falls, New York died in Manhattan's prestigious Mt. Sinai Medical Center in July 1998. On the surface, it was a tragic case of a hopelessly-ill woman who had desperately wanted to live, but delays in her surgery caused by her HMO were being blamed for her death. The case was being closely followed by Jack Shapiro's national healthcare radio show, "MediPolitics" as well as other media. But interviews with Ms. Packevicz before she died as well as her husband, her attorney and many outside experts clearly indicated that her case was a metaphor for the healthcare problems and personal/ social trade-offs we may all have to face over the next thirty years. In addition, the Packevicz case raised profound medical ethics, legal, media and political issues that serve as the basis for

"A DEATH IN THE CITY: QUESTIONING THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN HEALTHCARE."

Set against a background of a rapidly-aging society and escalating healthcare costs, the Packevicz case underscored these basic dilemmas: . How far should we expect the healthcare system to go in saving our own lives as well as those of people we love? . How willing is the public to accept fewer medical benefits so that more people can obtain minimal healthcare coverage? . How willing is the public to trade-off healthcare benefits for access to care and at what cost? Utilizing in-depth interviews with attorneys, medical experts, ethicists, and others who appeared on the radio show, "MediPolitics," as well as survey findings from a recent public opinion study conducted by Jack Shapiro, "A DEATH IN THE CITY: QUESTIONING THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN HEALTHCARE" is a practical guide for anyone with an interest in understanding the future of healthcare. The contents of this book include:

Chapter One: The Judy Packevicz case: a healthcare metaphor
Chapter Two: What the public expects from our healthcare system
Chapter Three: The healthcare crisis: the public's burgeoning awareness
Chapter Four: The phenomenal rise in healthcare costs
Chapter Five: The uninsured and the underinsured
Chapter Six: 2011: The impact of the Baby Boom
Chapter Seven: Uncertain future for insurers
Chapter Eight: Uncertain future of employer-provided healthcare
Chapter Nine: Government inaction and misdirection Chapter Ten: Waiting for technological miracles
Chapter Eleven: Leadership by the courts
Chapter Twelve: Alternative medicine, preventive medicine and other popular initiatives
Chapter Thirteen: Towards single-payer healthcare
Chapter Fourteen: A Look at the British and Canadian healthcare systems
Chapter Fifteen: A healthcare timetable for the next thirty years

For further information regarding
"A DEATH IN THE CITY: QUESTIONING THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN HEALTHCARE" please contact us at jack@jackshapiro.com.

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