The Price We Pay: What Broke American Health Care--and How to Fix It - Hardcover

Marty Makary, MD, MPH, is a surgeon and Professor of Health Policy at Johns Hopkins University and the author of the New York Times bestseller, Unaccountable. A leading voice for physicians in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today, he was the lead author of the articles introducing a surgical checklist, later adapted by the W.H.O. and has published extensively on health care costs, vulnerable populations, and quality science. He served in leadership at the W.H.O. Safe Surgery Saves Lives project and has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine. He lives in the Washington DC area.

“Dr. Makary takes a deep dive into the real issues driving up the price of health care and explains how we can all take action to restore medicine to its noble mission.” ―Don Berwick MD, senior fellow, Institute for Healthcare Improvement

“A must-read for every American and business leader.” ―Steve Forbes, editor-in-chief, FORBES magazine

“I absolutely loved this book. Insightful, sharp, and essential reading-one of the top 5 books I've ever read.” ―Jay Newton-Small, TIME Magazine contributor and author of BROAD INFLUENCE

“Marty Makary is a great storyteller, making accessible the business of medicine and the new ideas disrupting it without losing the important details. Everyone should read this book, and then demand a more transparent and fair system.” ―Shantanu Agrawal MD, President and CEO, the National Quality Forum

“A valuable and illuminating read, full of intriguing insights into the use of decision-making in medicine and health care and how to make things work for all.” ―Cass Sunstein, co-author of NUDGE and Professor, Harvard Law School

“Marty Makary is one of the great thought leaders in medicine and his new book, The Price We Pay, brilliantly lifts the veil on the state of modern medicine and the new ideas that are disrupting it.” ―Senator William H. Frist, MD

“Over the course of decades, American health care lost the 'care' component and devolved to a big, wasteful business. In his new book, Marty Makary undertakes an extensive listening tour and astutely deconstructs how this occurred and what we need to do about it.” ―Eric Topol MD, Editor-in-Chief, Medscape; author of THE PATIENT WILL SEE YOU NOW

“Dr. Makary artfully sifts through complex data to shine light on a path for those seeking to build a better health care system.” ―Aneesh Chopra, former Chief Technology Officer of the United States and President of CareJourney

“Plain talk from a surgeon and professor who has long studied health care issues and finds the American system badly in need of repair. . . . He clearly demonstrates how medical care is secretive and predatory and why skyrocketing costs can be accounted for by the money games of medicine . . . Makary rightly takes the health care business to task, but he also offers a ray of hope that change can and will happen.” ―Kirkus