The failure of America's medical system, as seen through the stories of the people who engineered the current health care revolution and those who have suffered from it. Every day, millions of Americans find themselves struggling to find affordable medical care for themselves and their families. It is a problem unique to the United States, the only country in the developed world that does not guarantee access to medical care as a right of citizenship. It is also a problem that is about to get worse. The American health insurance system, first created in the 1930s, is collapsing. Unless somebody decides to build a new system in its place, millions more Americans will suffer. Combining the real-life stories of ordinary people across the country with original reporting from Washington, this book explains why this transformation is taking place--and the consequences that could someday befall all of us.--From publisher description.