MCLEAN, Va., Oct. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. health care system -- touted as providing the best medical care in the world -- feels more and more precarious to most Americans, who are rattled by rising costs, questions about quality and fears about the future, says a new poll by USA TODAY, ABC News, and the Kaiser Family Foundation. This week, USA TODAY and ABC News are teaming up to explore the issues with health care in America in a series titled "Prescription for Change: Fixing American Health Care."

USA TODAY's coverage will be reported throughout the News, Money, and Life sections of the newspaper and online at USATODAY.com from Monday, October 16 through Friday, October 20.

    Among the issues the series will explore:

    * What Americans think is wrong with the health care system.

    * Myth vs. reality. What is driving up health care costs and what role
      does quality care play in it?

    * Evidence-based medicine. Why don't doctors practice medicine that has
      been proven to work?

    * Are Americans getting too much health care? We focus on back pain
      surgery as one example.

    * Prescription Drugs. Are new drugs, which are very expensive, really any
      better than drugs that have been on the market for decades?

    * Universal coverage. What do Americans say about universal health care?

    * Improving end-of-life care.

    * A hospital system in New Jersey that is making great strides in
      improving health care for its patients.

    On USATODAY.com, additional coverage will include:

    * An animated graphic explaining spinal fusion surgery.

    * A U.S. map that shows the average total cost of hospital care during the
      last six months of life for a Medicare patient with a chronic illness.

    * A case study of what happened when one patient presented at Hackensack
      University Medical Center in New Jersey with a heart attack.

ABC News will report Prescription for Change beginning Sunday, October 15 on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," and the series will continue throughout the week on "World News Sunday," "Good Morning America," "World News with Charles Gibson," and "Nightline." Reports will also be featured on ABC News Radio, ABC News Now, and ABCNEWS.com. Adopting a unique reporting approach, the series will look beyond the problems plaguing the current system and will propose real, practical solutions the government, businesses, and individuals can enact. Among the reports that will air: how those who are uninsured can get basic coverage; one doctor's visionary ideas for safer, higher quality care; and Wal-Mart's plan to provide low-priced medical care in its stores.

USA TODAY is the nation's top-selling newspaper. It is published via satellite at 36 locations in the USA and at four sites abroad. With a total average daily circulation of 2.3 million, USA TODAY is available worldwide. USA TODAY is published by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI). The USA TODAY brand also includes: USA TODAY Sports Weekly, a magazine for enthusiasts of baseball, professional football and NASCAR; USATODAY.com, an award-winning news and information Web site that is updated 24 hours per day; and USA TODAY LIVE, the television arm of the USA TODAY brand that brings the spirit and quality of the newspaper to television.

Source: USA TODAY