Doctor in the House: A Physician-Turned-Congressman Offers His Prescription for Scrapping Obamacare -- and Saving America's Medical System [Kindle Edition]

Burgess Congressman Michael (Author)

Book Description

In 2010, the United States House of Representatives passed ObamaCare into law - an overt step away from liberty toward socialism. And while the powers at be claimed a sweeping victory bolstered by national pride, many saw what the legislation truly promised. In Doctor in the House, Congressman Michael Burgess applies his three decades of experience working inside our nation's health care system to the diagnosis of our true ailments. In doing so, he offers a clear, common sense prescription for making our system more excellent, more efficient, and less expensive-for all Americans. A third generation physician, Burgess writes with obvious passion for the healing arts and powerful convictions about the limits of government intervention in the doctor-patient relationship.Doctor i the House brings clarity and common sense to the perplexing national debate over the new health care bill.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

After spending nearly three decades practicing medicine in North Texas, Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D., was first elected to Congress in 2002, and re-elected four times, most recently in 2010. During his time on Capitol Hill he has earned a reputation as a problem-solver who seeks sensible solutions to the challenges Americans face.

Product Details

• File Size: 403 KB
• Print Length: 202 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1936488256
• Publisher: WND Books; 1 edition (March 21, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004RPMRP0
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #521,627 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #50 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Professional & Technical > Law > Family & Health Law > Medical Law & Legislation

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Chapters11&12_TheBest April 2, 2011

By KellyRek

Format:Hardcover

The last two chapters ("Seven Things Your Doctor Wishes You Knew" and "A Prescription for What's Really Ailing Us") are the most important. This part of the book could stand alone, published as a mini-book or as a pamphlet, available for wide distribution.

Chapter 11 goes into detail about the nature of family practice today. It examines the world doctors inhabit under the weight of regulations, paperwork, lawsuits, and insurance companies. On pages 141 & 142, Dr. Burgess praises Governor Mitch Daniels from Indiana for his "Healthy Indiana" program, which empowers its state employees to be in charge of their own health care (via a "High Deductible Health Plan with a Health Savings Account.") This is what what David Goldhill promoted in his essay "How American Health Care Killed my Father" (published in the "Atlantic Magazine," September 2009 issue).

Chapter 12 gives us nine prescriptions for fixing our health care system. Michael Burgess writes succinctly, in only 18 pages, those nine remedies (pages 151-169). They include: insurance reform, tax fairness, portability, price transparency, etc.

On page 167, the "Prescription 8 -- Preventative Care and Wellness Programs" certainly makes sense. As in auto insurance where premiums are raised for motorists who like to speed and drive recklessly, health insurance companies should be allowed to raise premiums on individuals who live an unhealthy lifestyle (and reward those of us with lower premiums who exercise regularly and watch our weight). These kind of incentives should be available to everyone, including independent contractors. (Under Obamacare via "The Safeway Amendment," the wellness program is available only to **EMPLOYEES** of self-insured corporations; its regulations are so complex that a business attorney would be required -- lawyers are expensive!).

The author Michael Burgess is on our side -- us ordinary Americans, us health care consumers. His book is mainstream and "Middle America." He is no right-wing windbag like Rush Limbaugh (who recently attacked Mitch Daniels in one of his usual tirades.) Those of us in the "Tea Party Movement" are neither left nor right. Please write another book!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars First do no harm....the Good Doctor/Congressman Understands May 12, 2011

By Michelle

Format:Hardcover

The truth is American people trust their doctor more than they do their Congressman. Unfortunately, few doctors are in Congress. I like Dr. Burgess' assessment of where we've been and where we appear to be going, but he doesn't leave the reader without hope. I wish more Members of Congress were physicians and perhaps we'd have a cure for healthcare and the economy. It appears the doctor also is a businessman. Great read! True look at DC politics and an interesting forward by Newt Gingrich.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for Anyone Interested in July 22, 2011

By Aaron E George

Format:Hardcover

This book is a must read for any medical student, pre-med, or other interested in a career in medicine. As a fourth year medical student myself, I plan to pass my copy on to classmates, and recommend it to friends.

The truth is now, if you're in medicine - you're in politics. The course of my medical education has been intertwined by the ever-closer worlds of clinical training and health care reform. The truth is that modern physicians can not operate in a vacuum. The best way to take care of patients is to be dually aware of up-to-date practices as well as best policies. Understanding health reform and the willingness to have an aware and active voice can, and will, make a difference for patients. "Doctor in the House" will help you gain that awareness.

Whether you agree with the trajectory of health reform or not, Dr. Burgess offers an engaging look into the life of a physician-congressman. The first half of the book is filled with personal stories and interesting insight into his own thoughts over the past three decades. He speaks of the transition and difficulty in moving from medicine to politics - and how much he misses his patients. The last portion of the book covers Dr. Burgess's prescription for the modern health care climate. He breaks everything down into easy to understand points, with simple action-oriented steps.

If you're looking for a book to understand where we are coming from in health politics, and a course to where we are going - pick up "Doctor in the House".

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