In physics, the Grand Unification Theory (GUT) brings together three fundamental forces of nature into one overarching whole, and thus goes a long way toward explaining the Way Things Are.

Indeed, physicists assure us, once they figure out how to fold in the one remaining fundamental force - the force of gravity - their Grand Unification Theory (GUT) will at last become the theory of everything.  (Or rather, in deference to St. Paul, Muhammad, Buddha, and several others, it will become another theory of everything.) 

The Grand Unification Theory of Healthcare (GUTH) is far less ambitious than the one being gnawed over by physicists.  While their GUT aims to explain everything that has ever happened or ever will happen in the universe, the GUTH merely purports to explain everything about the American healthcare system.

That, I think you will agree, seems quite ambitious enough.

What do I mean by "everything?" 

The GUTH allows us to answer the three critical questions we all should be asking about the American healthcare system.

1) How can we understand it? The GUTH fully explains the current state of the American healthcare system: why it behaves the way it does, how it got this way, and where it's headed. It elucidates all the bizarre behavior of our healthcare system in all its disarray and irrationality. After examining the American healthcare system in light of the GUTH, behaviors that are initially incomprehensible become explainable and even predictable.

2) How can we survive it? The GUTH can guide individuals as they interact with the American healthcare system. Whether you're a doctor, a patient, or a healthcare entrepreneur, the GUTH predicts how the healthcare system will behave when you interact with it.  It suggests ways in which you can manipulate the healthcare system to your own personal benefit, to do your health-related job or run your health-related business more effectively, or more importantly, to improve your odds of survival when you get sick.

3) How can we fix it?   The GUTH points to an American solution to the healthcare crisis.  Because it is a universal theory that encompasses all conceivable healthcare systems, the GUTH allows us to imagine a global fix our healthcare system that is uniquely American. It can point us toward a solution that not only meets the "fairness, efficiency, and effectiveness" criterion that all Western nations strive for in their healthcare systems, but that also honors the foundational American ideal of individual autonomy.

The purpose of this website

The purpose of this website is to consider these three vital questions in light of the Grand Unification Theory of Healthcare. Accordingly, individual sections of this site are devoted to Understanding It, Surviving It, and Fixing It .

Before diving in to the three vital questions, however, you may want to spend a few minutes with the GUTH itself, the theory that, ultimately, provides the answers. You can find an introduction to the GUTH here .