Dan Munro’s ‘Casino Healthcare’ is a shocking but very real exposé of our nation’s $3.4 trillion healthcare system. While the system is often thought of as broken, Mr. Munro details the tragic yet finely-tuned medical industrial complex as one that’s been optimized for revenue and profits – not safety or quality. In a nation where healthcare debt remains the leading cause of bankruptcy and medical errors are the 3rd leading cause of death, Munro is one of the few writers blowing the whistle on a system that’s an economic unit roughly the size of Germany. 

One reviewer recently wrote, “’Casino Healthcare’ is a brilliant analysis of our current healthcare system in the US. As a practicing doctor in private practice and an author on healthcare policy, I have to say that ‘Casino Healthcare’ is one of the best and most complete that I have read on the subject.”


For Immediate Release 

Phoenix, Arizona – Dan Munro’s message is simple; our medical industrial complex isn’t broken at all. In fact, it’s operating exactly as designed with systemic flaws that date back to World War II. 

No one group is to blame for the crisis because each of the major players is complicit. Payers, providers, suppliers, educators, legislators and the pharmaceutical industry are all making enormous profits from the business of sickcare. The average cost of employer-sponsored PPO coverage for an American family of 4 is now almost $26,000 per year – and there’s no relief in sight.   

Synopsis: 

Early in 2015, author Michael Lewis was interviewed by Steve Kroft on 60 Minutes and a quote from that interview was the inspiration and influence for ‘Casino Healthcare’. 

“If it wasn’t complicated, it wouldn’t be allowed to happen. The complexity disguises what’s happening. If it’s so complicated that you can’t understand it - then you can’t question it.”


What Michael was referencing wasn’t healthcare, but high-speed trading on Wall Street. While he may not have realized it, the quote could just as easily be applied to healthcare. In fact, it's tailor-made. 

The statistics prove just how much of a casino the U.S. healthcare system has become. 

  • As a country, we now spend over $10,000 per year - for each person - just on healthcare.
  • Preventable medical errors are now the 3rd leading cause of death in the U.S. (behind cancer and heart disease).
  • Medical debt remains the leading cause of personal bankruptcies in the U.S.
  • Hospital pricing is determined by a cabal – in secret – and beyond legal challenge.
  • The Pharmaceutical industry – with profit margins that often eclipse tech giants like Apple, Google and Oracle – paid out a whopping $15 billion in fines over the last six years – just for off-label drug marketing. 

The system has become so complex and opaque that most Americans have simply given up on understanding how it works. Whole families and futures are crushed in this casino trying to pay for unanticipated medical expenses, many of which are immediate, unavoidable and life threatening. 

The huge expense might be defensible if the system delivered exceptional quality, but it doesn't. When the World Health Organization last ranked health systems around the world, the U.S. came in at #37 – just ahead of #38 (Slovenia) and behind #36 (Costa Rica). In 2014, The Commonwealth Fund ranked the American healthcare system dead last when compared to 10 other countries across 10 distinct variables – including cost.  

‘Casino Healthcare’ is not a theoretical policy book for the elite, but a book that penetrates the blanket of fog surrounding a major – and growing – household expense. With the research and style of an investigative journalist, the book is easy to understand and accessible by every American.

Americans have a right to be angry with how the U.S. healthcare system has been hijacked for revenue and profits. One analyst recently categorized it as “legalized extortion on a national scale.” In the same way that Michael Lewis exposed the complexity and corruption of high-speed trading on Wall Street, ‘Casino Healthcare’ will expose the U.S. healthcare system for what it really is – a giant casino of epic proportions where the risks are personal and nothing less than the health of an entire nation. 

Early reviews strongly endorse both the message and timing of the release. For example, Nicki comments, “Dan does an awesome job breaking down the mess we've gotten ourselves into re the dysfunctional state of healthcare in the US. The upward trend in healthcare costs is unsustainable. Becoming sick and being saddled with healthcare bills is an underlying fear that is constantly running (even at a subconscious level) in every American's mind. Our politics are literally killing us. ‘Casino Healthcare’ provides a clear definition of the problem and points to some choices that must be made for us to remove the fear of healthcare costs from our lives. A must read for all.”

‘Casino Healthcare: The Health of a Nation: America's Biggest Gamble’ is now available as both an eBook and print through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and iTunes:http://amzn.to/29dD1iY.

For more information, visit the author’s official website: http://dan-munro.com. 

About the Author:

Dan Munro is a writer and international speaker on the topic of U.S. Healthcare. As a book, ‘Casino Healthcare’ represents the culmination of writing about technology and healthcare innovation as a Forbes Contributor since 2011. 

Other global brands that Dan has written for include The Huffington Post, Re/Code, TEDMED, Cisco, GE Capital, and Health Standards. Dan is also a Top Writer (4 consecutive years) on the globally popular Q&A site known as Quora.

Dan is a regular speaker and moderator at healthcare industry events including the Digital Health Summit, Our Future Health, AHIP, SAS, The Marketing Forum and via online events hosted by major industry sponsors like Dell, Xerox, and TEDMED.

Dan graduated from the International School of Brussels before completing undergraduate degrees in Computer Science and Communications (with a minor in Journalism) at the University of Redlands.