The Patient, The Doctor and Bill Collector reveals the hidden truths behind the crushing wave of medical debt drowning more than 64 million Americans.

Authors Robert E. Goff and Jerry Ashton know the inside story on medical debt. Each offers more than 40 years of experience inside the healthcare and collections industries. They team up to deliver a scathing indictment of America’s healthcare system. In simple and forceful language, they detail how present approaches are rigged to fatten the wallets of big pharmaceutical companies, insurance monopolies, and hospitals. The medical debt collections industry also waits patiently for their turn at the trough.

Beyond simply pointing out the mistakes and the greed, the two authors came up with a simple yet powerful solution: Buy medical debt on the open market, and then abolish it! Their vehicle is RIP Medical Debt, a non-profit established in 2013 for the purpose of locating, buying and then forgiving this debt as a gift to those struggling with unpaid and unpayable bills. One collections industry executive described this debt retirement plan as a “Robin Hood” approach.

The Patient, The Doctor and The Bill Collector will help you keep yourself and your family from being swept away by the tsunami of medical debt endangering our future in America You will learn from industry insiders the shocking truths that the debt collections industry, hospitals and insurance companies do not want you to know.

If you are a patient or a patient’s family member, you will learn:

More than 64 million Americans already struggle to pay medical bills. More than 15 million people will deplete their savings to cover medical bills. Health insurance is no rescue, for 80 percent of those filing bankruptcy had insurance. The security blanket of health insurance is riddled with holes and surrounded by traps.

If you are a health practitioner, hospital or physicians group, you will learn:

Pharmaceutical costs and office visit fees cause patients to skip medication and care. If you believe healthcare reform will reduce your revenue losses, think again.

The United States is the only industrialized nation with a market-based healthcare insurance system. As a result, America is destined to be the only industrialized nation to bring about a widespread debt impoverishment of its citizens.

Whether you are a patent, a doctor or a bill collector, you need this book to survive!

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Robert E. Goff is an acknowledged expert in healthcare delivery, organization and financing with a career spanning leadership positions as a hospital administrator, regulator, managed care executive, consultant, and association executive. He serves as Executive Director and CEO of University Physicians Network (UPN) in New York City. Robert also is a corporate director and sought-after advisor to healthcare technology and care delivery companies.

Jerry Ashton is a recognized veteran of the credit and collections industry. He’s long been an outspoken critic of industry excesses. Inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement’s “Rolling Jubilee” campaign against medical debt, he came out of semi-retirement in 2014 to co-found RIP Medical Debt with the goal of removing one billion dollars in unpaid and unpayable personal medical bills from the backs of fellow Americans. Jerry blogs at The Huffington Post and tweets as @RIPMedicalDebt.

The authors maintain a resources website for book readers at NoMoreMedicalDebt.com.

Presenting twelve breakthrough practices for bringing creativity into all human endeavors, The Art of Possibility is the dynamic product of an extraordinary partnership. The Art of Possibility combines Benjamin Zander’s experience as conductor of the Boston Philharmonic and his talent as a teacher and communicator with psychotherapist Rosamund Stone Zander’s genius for designing innovative paradigms for personal and professional fulfillment. The authors’ harmoniously interwoven perspectives provide a deep sense of the powerful role that the notion of possibility can play in every aspect of life. Through uplifting stories, parables, and personal anecdotes, the Zanders invite us to become passionate communicators, leaders, and performers whose lives radiate possibility into the worldThe lure of this book’s promise starts with the assumption in its title. Possibility–that big, all-encompassing, wide-open-door concept–is an art? Well, who doesn’t want to be a skilled artist, whether in the director’s chair, the boardroom, on the factory floor, or even just in dealing with life’s everyday situations? Becoming an artist, however, requires discipline, and what the authors of The Art of Possibility offer is a set of practices designed to “initiate a new approach to current conditions, based on uncommon assumptions about the nature of the world.”

If that sounds a little too airy-fairy for you, don’t be put off; this is no mere self-improvement book, with a wimpy mandate to transform its readers into “nicer” people. Instead, it’s a collection of illustrations and advice that suggests a way to change your entire outlook on life and, in the process, open up a new realm of possibility. Consider, for example, the practice of “Giving an A,” whether to yourself or to others. Not intended as a way to measure someone’s performance against standards, this practice instead recognizes that “the player who looks least engaged may be the most committed member of the group,” and speaks to their passion rather than their cynicism. It creates possibility in an interaction and does away with power disparities to unite a team in its efforts. Or consider “Being the Board,” where instead of defining yourself as a playing piece, or even as the strategist, you see yourself as the framework for the entire game. In this scenario, assigning blame or gaining control becomes futile, while seeking to become an instrument for effective partnerships becomes possible.

Packed with such examples of personal and professional interactions, the book presents complex ideas on perception and recognition in a readable, useable style. The authors’ combined, eclectic experience in music and painting (as well as family therapy and executive workshops) infuses their examples with vibrant color and sound. The relevance to corporate situations and relationships is well developed, and they don’t rely on dry case studies to do it. Indeed, this book assumes the emotional intelligence and desire to engage of its reader, promising access to the rewards of that door-opening notion–possibility–in return. –S. Ketchum

A succinct, engaging, and practical guide for succeeding in any creative sphere, The War of Art is nothing less than Sun-Tzu for the soul. hat keeps so many of us from doing what we long to do? Why is there a naysayer within? How can we avoid the roadblocks of any creative endeavor—be it starting up a dream business venture, writing a novel, or painting a masterpiece? Bestselling novelist Steven Pressfield identif ies the enemy that every one of us must face, outlines a battle plan to conquer this internal foe, then pinpoints just how to achieve the greatest success. The War of Art emphasizes the resolve needed to recognize and overcome the obstacles of ambition and then effectively shows how to reach the highest level of creative discipline. Think of it as tough love . . . for yourself. Whether an artist, writer or business person, this simple, personal, and no-nonsense book will inspire you to seize the potential of your life.

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“The Debt” is the story of actor Mitchell Naughton, who plays the starring role in the new hit crime drama “Streets of the City.” His life and career are threatened with destruction when a friend from his distant past is found murdered. Returning home to Chicago, he mysteriously plunges headlong into the investigation, pulling him ever further into a vortex of deceit, danger and death, while Police close in on their number one suspect- Mitchell Naughton.

Jorge Newbery erased his debts without filing bankruptcy. Now you can, too. Like many Americans, Newbery struggled with debt. But unlike most people, he owed more than $26 million. Creditors swarmed after a natural disaster devastated his multi-million dollar business. The stress was crushing. He needed a way out — and what he discovered will amaze you. His breakthrough came practically by accident. One of his creditors made a sloppy legal mistake, and he battled the creditor all the way to the Missouri Court of Appeals. The court ruled that the entire debt — nearly $6 million — was “inadvertently extinguished.” It didn’t have to be paid. It was completely eliminated. Newbery applied the powerful techniques he had learned to all his other debts. The results were astonishing. One after another, his debts were either settled or gone forever. Now, Newbery reveals his proven debt-cleansing methods. In simple, step-by-step instructions, you’ll learn how to… Assert your rights and defend yourself against creditors. Stop making payments — and turn that to your advantage. End harassing collection calls. Dispute your debts to stack the odds in your favor. Uncover deficiencies that can put money in your pocket. Protect your assets from creditors (100% legally). Negotiate the best possible settlements. Be debt-free for life. Debt Cleanse shows you how to gain leverage over your creditors. You can settle your unaffordable debts for pennies on the dollar – and not pay some at all. Don’t let your debt burden you one more day. This book will set you free.

Greece isn’t the only country drowning in debt. The Debt Supercycle—when the easily managed, decades-long growth of debt results in a massive sovereign debt and credit crisis—is affecting developed countries around the world, including the United States. For these countries, there are only two options, and neither is good—restructure the debt or reduce it through austerity measures. Endgame details the Debt Supercycle and the sovereign debt crisis, and shows that, while there are no good choices, the worst choice would be to ignore the deleveraging resulting from the credit crisis. The book: Reveals why the world economy is in for an extended period of sluggish growth, high unemployment, and volatile markets punctuated by persistent recessions Reviews global markets, trends in population, government policies, and currencies

Around the world, countries are faced with difficult choices. Endgame provides a framework for making those choices.

Q&A with Authors John Mauldin and Jonathan Tepper

Author John Mauldin What is the debt supercycle?
Over a period of about sixty years, debt levels grew faster than incomes. This increase in debt became particularly pronounced in the 1980s, 90s and finally went parabolic after the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates to 1% after the Nasdaq crash. The increase in debt was not just a US phenomenon. As interest rates fell structurally with the fall in inflation from 1982 onwards, people took on more debt because it became more manageable. However, by 2008 the burden of debt became too much to bear and the debt supercycle came to an end. People started deleveraging and banks started collapsing due to low levels of capital and large losses from loans people couldn’t pay back.

How does the sovereign debt crisis play into this?
The rapid contraction in debt levels due to default and deleveraging lead to a fall in economic activity as people started saving and cutting spending. Governments immediately stepped in and backed bank debt with explicit guarantees. Governments also started borrowing and spending to transfer money to the private sector, for example via unemployment insurance. So in a very real sense, private borrowing was replaced with public borrowing. Debt was added onto more debt. Rather than free itself of debt, the system now has more debt. The sovereign debt crisis is the recognition that most of this debt will not be paid back, and governments are making promises to pay debt and other obligations, for example general spending and pensions, that they simply lack the ability to fulfill.

Author Jonathan Tepper The end of the debt supercycle and the beginning of the sovereign debt crisis present problems and challenges for investors and governments. Governments will need to either 1) inflate, 2) default or 3) devalue, which is similar to inflate. That is the way governments have historically dealt with too much debt. Some countries will experience deflation and others inflation, depending on what choices governments make. Currently governments have only bad and worse choices. Let’s hope they can choose wisely.

What do you predict for the next ten years?
Central banks globally have shown a predisposition to print money to solve problems. We forsee rising inflation in many parts of the world, reductions in real income as people lose purchasing power due to higher food and fuel prices and more macroeconomic volatility. Some countries that do not control their own money supply or are running pegs may experience deflation as they are forced to delever and cannot increase the money supply to counteract the weight of deleveraging.

You cite the events in Greece as an example of a country continuing to run massive deficits. Is there an example of a country making a better choice?
The UK is making some of the right steps to control spending, but even the UK could be more draconian. In nominal and real terms, government spending in aggregate will not be cut in the UK. Also, Iceland has made positive steps by defaulting on its debt effectively. Default is a good way to cure too much debt.

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A richly original look at the origins of money and how it makes the world go ?round

Niall Ferguson follows the money to tell the human story behind the evolution of our financial system, from its genesis in ancient Mesopotamia to the latest upheavals on what he calls Planet Finance. What?s more, Ferguson reveals financial history as the essential backstory behind all history, arguing that the evolution of credit and debt was as important as any technological innovation in the rise of civilization. As Ferguson traces the crisis from ancient Egypt?s Memphis to today?s Chongqing, he offers bold and compelling new insights into the rise? and fall?of not just money but Western power as well.

Our prediction for global economies and global asset markets heading into the turbulent 2016–2017 period is not meant to be alarmist, or a “Dr Doom” style forecast, but a realistic assessment of the facts around debt, demographics and disinflation, and then an extrapolation from those factors to individual economies and markets. Rather than simply being doomsayers, we intend to pen another book in 2017–2018, to take advantage of the expected undervaluation of global assets and economies that will occur as a result of the next recessionary phase. As such, we like to be contrarians, in both boom and bear cycles. Our strong sense is that the bull cycle that started in 2009, now nearly 7 years old, is slowly maturing. The time to make major asset allocation changes, whether you are a small investor or a major pension fund investor, is now, in advance of the turmoil. We are clear that we expect shares, property and other growth assets to fall by 30–50% in the coming 2 years. Commodities will fall by more than that, and currencies will fall by a fraction less. Either way, some major opportunities are there for the picking. We strongly advise our readers to think outside of the square, challenge consensus, be contrarian, and think for themselves, logically and sensibly. If they do, that is the path not just to profit but importantly to capital preservation in the turbulent years that lie ahead of us.

Winner of the 2015 Moon City Short Fiction Prize

In her debut collection of stories, Laura Hendrix Ezell assembles a harmonious chorus of resilient female voices—many speaking from the margins of their own lives, all contemplating their complicated relationships with the men who influence their trajectories. Set against rural backdrops whose emptiness and isolation hint at constrictive forces rather than wide open spaces, Ezell’s stories capture their characters not only at their most vulnerable and desperate, but also at essential moments of self-discovery, of purposeful recognition of the extenuating circumstances that have shaped their respective fates.

Throughout A Record of Our Debts, Ezell weaves together diverse, distinctive tales with remarkably fluid yet muscular prose that belies the desolate imagery contained within. These are striking, memorable odes to overcoming, though not always in ways that leave the characters whole. These are people who somehow manage to find themselves in the aftermath of loss, who uncover their own modest strengths while surrounded by so much weakness. This is a long, winding road of adolescents forced into prostitution by their own fathers, healers still haunted by the men they could not save, and widows who convert abandoned churches into makeshift diners in the hopes of luring back their husbands’ spirits. In short, this is a powerful exploration of the human spirit at both its best and its worst.

Ezell’s figures extend well off the page, lingering in one’s memory long after the final line. For that, readers owe Ezell a debt of gratitude.

From the author of the international bestseller Debt: The First 5,000 Years comes a revelatory account of the way bureaucracy rules our lives  

Where does the desire for endless rules, regulations, and bureaucracy come from? How did we come to spend so much of our time filling out forms? And is it really a cipher for state violence?
 
To answer these questions, the anthropologist David Graeber—one of our most important and provocative thinkers—traces the peculiar and unexpected ways we relate to bureaucracy today, and reveals how it shapes our lives in ways we may not even notice…though he also suggests that there may be something perversely appealing—even romantic—about bureaucracy.
 
Leaping from the ascendance of right-wing economics to the hidden meanings behind Sherlock Holmes and Batman, The Utopia of Rules is at once a powerful work of social theory in the tradition of Foucault and Marx, and an entertaining reckoning with popular culture that calls to mind Slavoj Zizek at his most accessible.
 
An essential book for our times, The Utopia of Rules is sure to start a million conversations about the institutions that rule over us—and the better, freer world we should, perhaps, begin to imagine for ourselves.