Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part 1: The problem a wasteful, dysfunctional system and a nation kept clueless -- Chapter 1: Myths, misinformation, and the pursuit of profit -- Chapter 2: America's health care: the monster we have created -- Chapter 3: Monster II: Perverse incentives lead to bizarre outcomes -- Chapter 4: Delayed care: rationing American style -- Chapter 5: Jumping hoops for the uninsured: caring for patients at a community health center -- Chapter 6: Squeezing the patient: co-pays and deductibles -- Chapter 7: Religion and health care reform: "personal responsibility" vs. Caring for the needy -- Chapter 8: Public health: we're all on this planet together -- Chapter 9: Blaming the victim: a bad rap for medicare -- Chapter 10: We don't want a health care system like they have in those foreign countries -- Part 2: Towards finding a solution -- Chapter 11: The price of health: how much should we Americans be spending on health care? -- Chapter 12: Don Quixote vs. the establishment: can the medical-industrial complex be toppled? -- Chapter 13: In search of a uniquely American solution to health care for all -- Chapter 14: Grassroots for health care for all: what can Americans do to claim a right to health care? -- Chapter 15: National health insurance or medicare for all: a reality in our lifetime? -- Chapter 16: Single payer will not fly: a response -- Chapter 17: Needed for affordable and effective health care reform in America: a paradigm shift for prevention -- Chapter 18: epilogue: beyond universal coverage.