Book 2 Post 1

For the second book, I chose to read Our Malady: Lessons in Liberty from a Hospital Diary because I think the US health care system is pretty interesting. I've watched medical shows where issues of racism and insurance policies have been featured. US health care is extremely expensive. I grew up in the Philippines where health insurance is not as expensive as in the US. However, the Philippines' health care is definitely not good especially as seen during the pandemic. As I read this book, I hope to get a better understanding of the systematic issues in US health care and some ideas on how these can be addressed. 

In the first few chapters, Timothy Snyder first explains the definition of malady. Malady is basically a disease or disordered condition. Through this book, he aims to shed light on the maladies that surround the health care system. He shares his own experience as he bounced through multiple hospitals on December 2019, right before the pandemic hit. He talks about how doctors barely paid any attention to him in emergency rooms and would only talk to him for a few minutes. They didn't bother to get a detailed medical history on the patient. It was later discovered that he had sepsis, which can be extremely fatal especially when not treated right away. During his travels, he also had experience with European hospitals and compares this to his experience in US hospitals.