This highly readable, albeit complicated, book on health care focuses on the problems of the U.S. model of a third-party payment system (insurance) for medications, doctor visits, and hospitalizations. The premise is to get rid of this form of payment—as it takes away the patient’s control over their own health care—and the extreme costs of healthcare for consumers. They believe that with President Trump and DOGE, people can have less government, which will enable this system to develop and work in the patient’s favor. This will then lead to a direct doctor-patient relationship, with no insurance managing the healthcare process.

The authors do not believe that Medicare for All or models such as those used in Canada, Britain, or other countries work. They have developed a plan called the Empower Patients Initiative (EPI), which is a long-term approach to managing health care through three phases that is affordable and easily accessible to patients. It includes an unlimited health savings account, a medical safety net through block grants, and a pool for the chronically ill. The book ends with a healthcare dictionary, which is very valuable to explain the more difficult aspects of the text.

The book does a nice job of explaining the free-market concept and how it could benefit patients, as well as the struggles posed by the current problems of the third-party payee system. Also, the text offers excellent examples through stories of people who have struggled with the current system to access needed health care services. Beyond demanding change at the ballot box, the book doesn’t really offer many ways for consumers to change the current system. However, it does give patients fodder for looking at how to empower themselves.

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