Close Reading: How Healthcare is Changing - for the Better
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2012/10/18/how-healthcare-is-changingfor-the-better

This Article, 'How Healthcare is Changing - for the Better' convinces us that new measures are more appropriate, cost-effective, and useful in treating patients. The author, Christopher Gearon, uses personal details and straightforward logic to argue this point.

Right off the bat, Gearon describes a specific patient, Sarah Holobaugh, who is living with respiratory and cardiac problems (Gearon 1). He uses a 'zoom-in, zoom-out' approach that personalizes the issue with 80-year-old Sarah, then explains how her situation is that of millions of Americans. The tiniest detail of her roof being rebuilt to avoid damaging mold spores brings humanity to politics and policy, so he makes sure to refer back to it later, "The goal is to expand... attention to the realities of daily life—like transportation and financial issues and Holobaugh's leaky roof" (Gearson 1). This organization helps us feel the personal relevance of changes in the health care system. This structure is repeated in a successive paragraph, this one about "Retired IBM engineer Stephen Hennessy of Essex Junction, Vt." (Gearson 2). I think its a little cheesy, but these individuals give a face to the reforms and grab interest.

Now that we're feeling all warm and fuzzy, it is time for some indisputable facts and logic. "Whereas most hospitals and doctors are paid only for providing direct care, and not for any time and effort they spend trying to prevent illness, doctors here are rewarded in part for making sure people keep their conditions in check" (Gearson 1). That sounds pretty reasonable. And it makes sense; if doctors are paid for attempting to cure, not preventing disease, then there is no incentive to keep people healthy in the first place, and programs like Medicare and Medicaid are strained. "Approximately 1 in 4 people with heart failure are back for return visits within a month of being sent home," is an excellent fact, because it is a simple fraction with complicated implications (Gearson 2). He goes on to explain how emergency care is more expensive and dangerous than preventative measures with consistent follow up. This is a multifaceted issue, but when these important correlations are highlighted through rational explanations and unfettered facts, an audience will be convinced.

The article goes on to describe the benefits of a new , more interactive, more preventative health care system. But an article is only as convincing as its author. Gearson's use of personal/emotional details, and clear facts makes the content accessible, understandable, and relatable to the average American.