Whether a patient, health consumer, physician, nurse, health executive, or elected official, somewhere deep in our brains is this simple truth: the American health system isn’t working, and it will only get worse if we don’t do something about it.

Despite spending more money per capita on healthcare than any other country in the world, the U.S. struggles to match other nations in life expectancy, health outcomes and general well-being. Meanwhile the system spends more on unnecessary, ineffective and wasteful services than what we collectively invest in K-12 education in America. All the while, our health status is declining. For the first time kids born today may not live as long as their older siblings. This is a book about the interconnectedness between the health of people and the health of a nation. It’s about the opportunity and responsibility each of us have to reimagine and reengineer a system that focuses on keeping all citizens healthy and caring for them when they are not. We can and must take back the right we all have to be in better control of things that impact our health and wellbeing. This book awakens readers to the possibilities that exist today that are right in front of us if only we choose to see them. The book creates an understanding of the forces at work in healthcare today that are driving us in the wrong direction. It instils readers with a sense of activism that mobilizes them to take action. It’s designed to help readers understand the role they can play and actions they can take to determine the health and economic well-being of their children’s, children’s children.

The ultimate goal of this book is to help everyone find and use their voice to drive positive change.