Reviews
"Robert Field begins with the familiar cry, 'keep government out of my health care,' and skillfully demonstrates why that is simply not possible. Government is the silent partner driving the health care system--organizing, regulating, and funding, funding, funding. Mother of Invention reveals the private--public connection in every corner of American health care-from the pharmaceutical giants to the family doctor. It is elegant, thoughtful, creative, meticulous, unsettling, irresistible, and required reading for both scholars and citizens." -James Morone, John Hazen White Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, Brown University, and author of Hellfire Nation, By the People: Debating American Government and The Heart of Power: Health and Politics in the Oval Office. "Weaving history and crisp analysis, Professor Field brilliantly helps us to understand how government's massive roles in policy, payment and regulation have created the exigencies of the American health care system and its marketplace. His conclusions affirm that this reality will shape all viable solutions going forward." -- Gary L. Gottlieb, President and Chief Executive Officer, Partners HealthCare System, Inc., and Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School "This book offers a brilliant analysis of the enduring role of government in creating and supporting the health care market. It is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the true relationship between government and market forces." -- Sara Rosenbaum, Harold and Jane Hirsh Professor, George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services "Robert Field's illuminating book demonstrates the fatuity of calls to get the federal government out of our health care system. Through generous funding, tax breaks and protective regulation, the federal government in fact created our uniquely American public/private health care system, which could not have existed without it. Our task now, as Field shows, is to improve, not sunder, this relationship." -- Timothy Stoltzfus Jost, Robert L. Willett Family Professor, Washington and Lee University Law School, "Robert Field begins with the familiar cry, 'keep government out of my health care,' and skillfully demonstrates why that is simply not possible. Government is the silent partner driving the health care system--organizing, regulating, and funding, funding, funding. Mother of Invention reveals the private--public connection in every corner of American health care-from the pharmaceutical giants to the family doctor. It is elegant, thoughtful, creative, meticulous, unsettling, irresistible, and required reading for both scholars and citizens." -James Morone, John Hazen White Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, Brown University, and author of Hellfire Nation, By the People: Debating American Government and The Heart of Power: Health and Politics in the Oval Office. "Weaving history and crisp analysis, Professor Field brilliantly helps us to understand how government's massive roles in policy, payment and regulation have created the exigencies of the American health care system and its marketplace. His conclusions affirm that this reality will shape all viable solutions going forward." -- Gary L. Gottlieb, President and Chief Executive Officer, Partners HealthCare System, Inc., and Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School "This book offers a brilliant analysis of the enduring role of government in creating and supporting the health care market. It is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the true relationship between government and market forces." -- Sara Rosenbaum, Harold and Jane Hirsh Professor, George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services "Robert Field's illuminating book demonstrates the fatuity of calls to get the federal government out of our health care system. Through generous funding, tax breaks and protective regulation, the federal government in fact created our uniquely American public/private health care system, which could not have existed without it. Our task now, as Field shows, is to improve, not sunder, this relationship." -- Timothy Stoltzfus Jost, Robert L. Willett Family Professor, Washington and Lee University Law School "Field's investigation is compelling, his subject is vast and daunting. We come away knowing that the system is a delicate dance between the private and public sectors. It is the reason we have some of the best care in the world and why our system is the most expensive." --Philadelphia Inquirer "Though Barack Obama is the first American president to succeed in passing a universal health-care plan, in his new book Mother of Invention, Drexel University law professor Robert I. Field reminds us that the idea of a national health plan isn't anything new. The book's central premise is that the government created the health-care system, often in hidden ways, and without it, we would not have the system we have. Though Field's investigation is compelling, his subject is vast and daunting. But in Field's view, the Affordable Care Act is a step in the right direction." -- Evi Heilbrunn, The Inquirer "There are many books about healthcare reform, but none that explore the topic of the role of government and the partnership with private companies the way this one does. Its unique spin on how government cannot ever be totally separate from healthcare delivery provides great material for debates." -Doody's "This book stands as an excellent review of the history and current state of the U.S. health-care system. ... This book is a valuable addition to the literature on the U.S. health insurance system, and comparative studies that aim to relate the U.S. health insurance system to those of other countries to determine which policies work best for improving health care and health insurance." --Journal of Risk and Insurance, "Robert Field begins with the familiar cry, 'keep government out of my health care,' and skillfully demonstrates why that is simply not possible. Government is the silent partner driving the health care system--organizing, regulating, and funding, funding, funding. Mother of Invention reveals the private--public connection in every corner of American health care-from the pharmaceutical giants to the family doctor. It is elegant, thoughtful, creative, meticulous, unsettling, irresistible, and required reading for both scholars and citizens." -James Morone, John Hazen White Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, Brown University, and author of Hellfire Nation, By the People: Debating American Government and The Heart of Power: Health and Politics in the Oval Office. "Weaving history and crisp analysis, Professor Field brilliantly helps us to understand how government's massive roles in policy, payment and regulation have created the exigencies of the American health care system and its marketplace. His conclusions affirm that this reality will shape all viable solutions going forward." -- Gary L. Gottlieb, President and Chief Executive Officer, Partners HealthCare System, Inc., and Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School "This book offers a brilliant analysis of the enduring role of government in creating and supporting the health care market. It is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the true relationship between government and market forces." -- Sara Rosenbaum, Harold and Jane Hirsh Professor, George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services "Robert Field's illuminating book demonstrates the fatuity of calls to get the federal government out of our health care system. Through generous funding, tax breaks and protective regulation, the federal government in fact created our uniquely American public/private health care system, which could not have existed without it. Our task now, as Field shows, is to improve, not sunder, this relationship." -- Timothy Stoltzfus Jost, Robert L. Willett Family Professor, Washington and Lee University Law School "Field's investigation is compelling, his subject is vast and daunting. We come away knowing that the system is a delicate dance between the private and public sectors. It is the reason we have some of the best care in the world and why our system is the most expensive." --Philadelphia Inquirer "Though Barack Obama is the first American president to succeed in passing a universal health-care plan, in his new book Mother of Invention, Drexel University law professor Robert I. Field reminds us that the idea of a national health plan isn't anything new. The book's central premise is that the government created the health-care system, often in hidden ways, and without it, we would not have the system we have. Though Field's investigation is compelling, his subject is vast and daunting. But in Field's view, the Affordable Care Act is a step in the right direction." -- Evi Heilbrunn, The Inquirer "There are many books about healthcare reform, but none that explore the topic of the role of government and the partnership with private companies the way this one does. Its unique spin on how government cannot ever be totally separate from healthcare delivery provides great material for debates." -Doody's, "Robert Field begins with the familiar cry, 'keep government out of my health care,' and skillfully demonstrates why that is simply not possible. Government is the silent partner driving the health care system--organizing, regulating, and funding, funding, funding. Mother of Invention reveals the private--public connection in every corner of American health care-from the pharmaceutical giants to the family doctor. It is elegant, thoughtful, creative, meticulous, unsettling, irresistible, and required reading for both scholars and citizens." -James Morone, John Hazen White Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, Brown University, and author of Hellfire Nation, By the People: Debating American Government and The Heart of Power: Health and Politics in the Oval Office. "Weaving history and crisp analysis, Professor Field brilliantly helps us to understand how government's massive roles in policy, payment and regulation have created the exigencies of the American health care system and its marketplace. His conclusions affirm that this reality will shape all viable solutions going forward." -- Gary L. Gottlieb, President and Chief Executive Officer, Partners HealthCare System, Inc., and Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School "This book offers a brilliant analysis of the enduring role of government in creating and supporting the health care market. It is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the true relationship between government and market forces." -- Sara Rosenbaum, Harold and Jane Hirsh Professor, George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services "Robert Field's illuminating book demonstrates the fatuity of calls to get the federal government out of our health care system. Through generous funding, tax breaks and protective regulation, the federal government in fact created our uniquely American public/private health care system, which could not have existed without it. Our task now, as Field shows, is to improve, not sunder, this relationship." -- Timothy Stoltzfus Jost, Robert L. Willett Family Professor, Washington and Lee University Law School "Field's investigation is compelling, his subject is vast and daunting. We come away knowing that the system is a delicate dance between the private and public sectors. It is the reason we have some of the best care in the world and why our system is the most expensive." --Philadelphia Inquirer "Though Barack Obama is the first American president to succeed in passing a universal health-care plan, in his new book Mother of Invention, Drexel University law professor Robert I. Field reminds us that the idea of a national health plan isn't anything new. The book's central premise is that the government created the health-care system, often in hidden ways, and without it, we would not have the system we have. Though Field's investigation is compelling, his subject is vast and daunting. But in Field's view, the Affordable Care Act is a step in the right direction." -- Evi Heilbrunn, The Inquirer
