The doctor/patient relationship once thrived on trust. Today, however, the American healthcare system buries that trust behind layers of red tape and administrative bureaucracy.
In “Health Care: Compassion In Action”, author Gregory Gallivan argues that today’s healthcare model treats doctors and patients as cogs in a sprawling industry machine. Not only is his solution to the broken relationship obtainable, but his ground-breaking book also lays out a plan that can be approved in just 24 hours and implemented in under two years.
Why Greg Gallivan set out to fix the American health care system
Gallivan’s motivation is personal. He grew up in a household of medical professionals and watched his parents try to deliver a high level of care despite mounting challenges.
Gallivan’s father, a respected thoracic surgeon, allowed his son to accompany him on his rounds. That uniquely hands-on apprenticeship ultimately led Gallivan to pursue studies in the medical field, until he received an unexpected warning from the man he idolized.
“My father looked me in the eye and told me to stop studying medicine,” recalls Gallivan. “He had devoted his life to assisting others, but he eventually reached the point where he had to warn me that the system had become too broken to recommend as a career to the next generation.”
But the spark that ignited the plan came from dropping a close friend’s three-year-old son off at daycare. As Gallivan listened to the little boy chatter about his dreams, the innocent enthusiasm hit him hard. He imagined the world that child would grow into, and the reality the child’s mother was already facing as a registered nurse.
Gallivan became even more convinced of the problem from an Uber ride when he drove the CEO of a major healthcare company to Logan Airport. During the ride, he was stunned to learn that there was no reasonable plan in the works. The Affordable Care Act’s federal subsidies ended at the start of 2026.
Months later, another high-ranking executive rode with Gallivan and told him the same. Between those two rides, however, he developed a plan.
He laid out the details and honestly asked that second executive whether the plan would work. In answer, she leaned into his passenger-side window in the rain outside her company’s headquarters and said, “You have to write this. You need to write this.”
Reimagining healthcare with an à la carte insurance model
Gallivan’s first major reform is centered on consumer choice. He proposes an à la carte insurance model designed to create modifiable family programs because different people, whether a newly married couple, a single parent with two kids, or seniors, all need vastly different coverage. When they are forced into a menu of rigid plans, the insurance never fits.
“Make coverage adaptable, and the doctor and patient will once again be the center of healthcare,” Gallivan argues. “They will make health decisions based on their conversations in the exam room, not based on forms written by insurance companies.”
Saving America’s healthcare system with education reform
Even the best insurance design will not matter if there are not enough people to deliver care. Gallivan believes that solving this requires an education system that actively encourages the nation’s brightest and most altruistic children to pursue healthcare careers.
Notably, Gallivan wants to start early with a 4th-grade initiative program because by the time many students reach high school, the pipeline determining who may be able to become a doctor or nurse has already narrowed. However, this early initiative creates equality for all children before financial barriers or lack of guidance shut doors.
Increasing middle-class spending has the power to revitalize health care
Gallivan next focuses on the financial foundation beneath the entire system. His plan to increase the dollar’s purchasing power will ultimately reduce the number of people relying on state and federal aid programs.
When people can afford more, they can participate more fully in the healthcare system by getting preventive care to address issues earlier, filling prescriptions without worrying about their costs, and avoiding many of the expensive emergencies that overwhelm hospitals and patient budgets today. Plus, as purchasing power increases and fewer people require assistance, tax revenue will rise for states and the federal government, creating even more capacity to strengthen core services.
Gallivan firmly believes America can turn its struggling healthcare system around in just two years. His book’s solution is surprisingly practical, but the explanation takes readers on an engaging journey through several decades of crucial history and into a hopeful future.
“A promising future is just ahead,” Gallivan concludes. “We have everything in place to make this dream a reality. It is time to replace all the theory with common sense actions that work for everyone.”
