One in five Americans now has medical debt in collections and rising health care costs today threaten every small business in America. Dr. Makary, one of the nation’s leading health care experts, travels across America and details why health care has become a bubble. Drawing from on-the-ground stories, his research, and his own experience, The Price We Pay paints a vivid picture of price-gouging, middlemen, and a series of elusive money games in need of a serious shake-up. Dr. Makary shows how so much of health care spending goes to things that have nothing to do with health and what you can do about it. Dr. Makary challenges the medical establishment to remember medicine’s noble heritage of caring for people when they are vulnerable.
The Price We Pay offers a roadmap for everyday Americans and business leaders to get a better deal on their health care, and profiles the disruptors who are innovating medical care. The movement to restore medicine to its mission, Makary argues, is alive and well–a mission that can rebuild the public trust and save our country from the crushing cost of health care.
Dr. Marty Makary is a New York Times bestselling author and leading voice for transparency in health care. He is the recipient of the 2020 Business Book of the Year Award for The Price We Pay. A professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, he has published over 250 scientific articles on the re-design of health care, medical innovation, and vulnerable populations. Dr. Makary has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine and is Editor-in-Chief of Medpage Today. He has written for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and USA Today and is a frequent medical commentator.
Clinically, Dr. Makary practices pancreas surgery and has pioneered novel operations at Johns Hopkins. He is the recipient of the Nobility in Science Award from the National Pancreas Foundation and has been a visiting professor at over 20 medical schools.
Dr. Makary was the lead author of the original publications on the surgery checklist and later served in leadership roles at the World Health Organization. Dr. Makary is the chairman of the African Mission Healthcare medical advisory board and leads several health care collaboratives. His current research focuses on the underlying causes of disease and relationship-based medicine.
His book Unaccountable turned into the T.V. series “The Resident” and his newest bestselling book of The Price We Pay was has been described by Don Berwick as “a deep dive into the real issues driving up the price of health care” and by Steve Forbes as “A must-read for every American”. He speaks nationally and internationally on the appropriateness of care, lifestyle choices that influence health outcomes, employee health benefits design, and health care costs.
