When you need health care, will it be available? Will it be affordable? Will it be effective? Will the health care system create jobs? Will it destroy the economy? Will it increase the national debt to dangerous levels? Will it expand human freedom or restrict it? Will it be consistent with our values? Will it improve the health of the American people? The answers to these questions depend, in part, on what our government does or does not do. And that, in turn, depends on what American citizens do. Whether you're liberal or conservative or something else, whether you're a political junkie or don't know the difference between a Democrat and a Republican, this book is your guide to health care and public policy. This book will introduce you to Medicare, Medicaid, Health Savings Accounts, and the recently-passed Affordable Care Act, also called "health care reform" or "Obamacare." Rather than simply explaining how health care policy works, this book invites you to follow four fictional characters. As you follow the experiences, arguments, and passions of these diverse personalities, you will learn about both American health care policy and various proposals to fix it. This book strives to fairly present all sides of the debate without overlooking the positive and negative aspects of each approach, or pretending that each approach is equally good. What the government does and doesn't do about health care touches almost every part of American life. When you think critically about health care and public policy, you may change the way you think about your community, your freedom, your job, your taxes, and your vote