Marching Toward Coverage

February 21, 2020

Health care in the United States can be complicated, and the idea of rebuilding the system can be daunting. In this book, Day, owner of the business Day Healthcare Strategies, strives to decipher the workings of the current system and the history of American health care, and explore how citizens can advocate for change. The occasionally dense text discusses how health coverage does or doesn't work from person to person, why women are more affected by system inequalities, and the ways in which U.S. practices differ from other developed countries. The subtitle implies a focus on the importance of women in the fight for universal health care, but in reality, the work is much more concentrated on the history of the health care reform movement and how it can advance; that women are on the front lines is more of a footnote. VERDICT Day clearly provides a road map for future advocacy in health-care reform, appealing to readers interested in helping to pave a path forward.--Ahliah Bratzler, Indianapolis P.L.

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2020
Like many women, Day serves as the chief medical officer for her family. In 2017, for example, her 80-year-old mom was hospitalized, her 18-year-old daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease, and she herself learned that she needed treatment for breast cancer. Day is one of the lucky ones: her family had insurance, unlike 28 million Americans who do not. And of those who do, nearly half have it through their job or a family member's employment. Day is also a public health-care expert, so she readily parlays her personal experiences into an overview of the U.S. health-care system?from 1965, when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Social Security Amendments establishing Medicare and Medicaid to improve health services for all Americans, to 2010, when President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) into law, though it is still generating opposition. Day argues that since the U.S. requires all drivers to have auto insurance, why not do the same for health insurance? Day convincingly makes a case for universal coverage and more and better investments in social services.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)