American Health—Who Gets Paid
Series: Trade BooksPublished by: Blackstone Press
Release Date: January 2, 2026
Contributors: 100
ISBN13: 979-8994097847
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American Health—Who Gets Paid
A short book about the pricing system that governs U.S. medicine
American health care is often described as chaotic, inefficient, or broken.
It is none of those things.
It is internally consistent — shaped by a pricing system that rewards certain forms of work and quietly erodes others. That system determines how time is spent, which kinds of care survive, why prevention struggles to scale, and why innovation so often collides with invisible walls.
This book names that structure.
American Health—Who Gets Paid examines how medical work is priced in the United States, who sets those values, and why a system built for episodic rescue now stands in the way of better health in a world shaped by chronic disease, continuous data, and artificial intelligence.
It is written for clinicians, health leaders, policymakers, technologists, and employers who sense that something fundamental has changed — but have not yet been given clear language for it.
What This Book Does
Explains how the RVU and CPT pricing system actually works
Shows why prevention and longitudinal care remain structurally fragile
Connects clinician burnout to payment design rather than individual failure
Explains why innovation repeatedly fails to scale in U.S. health care
Clarifies what human work still matters as AI absorbs execution
Frames pricing as governance — not accounting
This is not a manifesto.
It does not argue for disruption or blame.
It argues for clarity.
Who This Book Is For
Clinicians who feel the tension between responsibility and compensation
Health system leaders navigating AI, workforce strain, and margin pressure
Policymakers and staff seeking structural explanations rather than slogans
Employers trying to understand what rising health costs actually buy
Technologists building upstream tools inside downstream payment rails
No prior agreement is assumed.
The book is designed to be read in pieces, shared freely, and tested locally.
Formats
Ebook (EPUB / Kindle) — $4.99
Audiobook — approx. $5.95
PDF — available for direct purchase and institutional use
Availability
Amazon / Kindle – ebook & audiobook
Audible – audiobook
Apple Books – ebook & audiobook
Direct (this site) – PDF and additional formats
The content is identical across formats.
Choose how you prefer to read or listen.
About the Author
Robin Blackstone, MD, is a physician and health systems thinker focused on pricing, governance, and the future of clinical work in an era shaped by artificial intelligence. Her work examines how incentives shape care delivery — and how health systems can be redesigned to reward judgment, trust, and responsibility rather than volume alone.
A Note on Intent
This book does not offer clinical, legal, or employment advice.
It offers a way of seeing.
Once the pricing layer is visible, many features of U.S. health care stop feeling mysterious — and start feeling inevitable.
That clarity is the starting point.