Must-read long form journalism on health care reform

This month in the Atlantic, a private businessman writes the most compelling piece on health care I've read since the debate started. Basically he argues that the system isn't ripe for reform - the system needs to be blown up. The author makes the case that were it not for our reliance on health insurance to provide all our health care, and on health care to secure our health (as opposed to nutrition, exercise, etc.), both the coverage problem and the cost problem could be brought under control. He lays out just how badly the market is distorted by both public and private insurance. The hook for his story is how his father wound up one of the 100,000 Americans who die each year from faulty medical care, when he contracted an infection during treatment for pneumonia. In a hospital.

For both proponents and detractors of the Democrats' plans, this is worth taking the time on.