The Hospital by Brian Alexander

The Hospital tells the tale of the sorry state of healthcare in America. The focus is a community hospital in a struggling Ohio town. The CEO is determined to keep the hospital independent, rather than letting it get swallowed up by a big hospital consortium, because it plays such an important role in the community. But it is a constant struggle.

The author spent months interviewing people who ran/worked in the hospital along with patients, paramedics, and other local characters. It's a heartbreaking book to read because so many of the patients are struggling economically. So when they first start feeling symptoms, they ignore them. Then by time they can't ignore the symptoms anymore and go to the ER, it turns out to be an advanced case of something serious--which could have been prevented if the patient had been able to afford a doctor visit when the symptoms were still mild.

The author clearly did a lot of research and gathered some eye-opening numbers on topics like the cost of drugs and how much money "non-profit" hospitals are socking away. And that was all before Covid hit.

It's a sobering look at healthcare in America.