For the Hurt of My People
Original Conservatism and Better, Simpler Healthcare
For the Hurt of My People is a passionate, thoughtful political science text that argues for bringing publicly funded health care to the US.
Joseph Q. Jarvis’s political science book For the Hurt of My People suggests means of overhauling the US’s health care delivery system.
Jarvis, a Utah-based physician and public health advocate, has a blunt message for Americans: the US’s health care system can either be profitable or efficient, but it “cannot [be] both.” The current system, he asserts, places money and politics before patient welfare, to the detriment of all. In its place, he argues for a publicly funded health care system run by the government, a plan he considers in keeping with the spirit of traditional Christian and conservative values and that he names the only morally and economically viable way forward.
Drawing on decades of experience in the health care industry, Jarvis speaks out against the fearmongering, partisan bickering, and profit-driven special interest groups that he claims have long prevented true health care reform. The book uses harrowing personal and historical stories to emphasize the inefficiency of the US’s current system and to suggest what the system might be like if it were rebuilt with the public good in mind.
In the course of the book come several suggestions for moving toward a fair, cost-effective health care system, including people using their votes to elect candidates who support logical health care reform. The book also entreats doctors to move away from rigid, “mechanical” thinking and to provide personalized care that accounts for their patients’ emotional and physical needs. But the book’s centerpiece recommendation is to support existing legislation to implement a state-based, single-payer health care system.
In well-reasoned, heartfelt language, the book makes a strong though repetitious case that this solution would better utilize taxpayer dollars, deliver higher quality health care, and preserve states’ rights. It also, the book argues, would be more likely to garner support from both political parties, making it more politically viable than a federally administered program.
The book ends by reiterating its arguments, with explanations of how Americans can apply these arguments to their own political activities, whether that includes donating money to a named political action committee or reevaluating who they’re voting for. But while some sources are included in the course of the book, they’re too sparse around its discussions of topics like United Health stock prices and annual health care costs. Elsewhere, the book cites Bible verses to support its key values.
Grounded in conservative and religious values, For the Hurt of My People is a passionate political science text that argues for bringing publicly funded health care to the US.
Reviewed by
Eileen Gonzalez
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
