Public Agenda Issue Guide: Health Care

Citizens

are confronted with serious issues every minute of the day. Grasping the underlying issues from the headlines is a difficult task. Give us ten minutes a day and we will help bring clarity to the chaos of the news, policy and issues.

ON THE AGENDA

Below The Radar

Maya Dusenbery
Nov 19, 2008

Between the long shadow cast by the economy and the excitement of the historic election of Barack Obama as the new president of the United States, there's one subject which has barely made it into the headlines. Among the ballot initiatives that were decided in the fifty states were three referenda which would have banned or restricted abortion. These measures, in South Dakota, Colorado, and California, were all defeated.

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Could an Economic Downturn Be the Ticket to Health Care Reform?

Jenny Choi
Nov 18, 2008

An analysis in the Los Angeles Times today posits what could prove to be a tipping point for the health care crisis: the current economic slump.

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FACING UP TO THE
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ISSUE GUIDE: Health Care

OVERVIEW

Health Care

The nation's health care system is once again under the microscope as growing numbers of Americans are uninsured, costs keep rising, and the public grows increasingly worried about it.

The U.S. spends more money on health care than any other nation. Health care spending will increase to $4.3 trillion by 2017, or $13,000 per person, according to the annual projection by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Put another way, the rate of annual growth for health care will be 6.7 percent, which is three times the rate of inflation. Experts attribute the increase to higher demand for care and an aging population.

Yet higher spending on health care does not necessarily correspond to a healthier population, or even that everyone will get care. Some 47 million Americans go without health insurance, according to the Census Bureau, mostly people in jobs that don't offer it as an employee benefit.

GET THE FACTS

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CONSIDER THE CHOICES

Use Competition to Make the System More Efficient

Expand the Current System to Cover More People

Create a National Health Care System

The main problem with the healthcare system is that costs keepgoing up. All the other problems inthe health care system stem fromthis and won't be solved until wegive everyone real choices andthe ability to take responsibility forwhat they spend on care. Thatmeans reducing regulation andusing free market competition toallow insurers to offer a widerrange of plans. We should alsoembrace managed care, whichwatches expenses carefully andhas already slowed down theincrease in health care costs. Bymoving further in the direction ofmanaged care, and adoptingmedical savings accounts, whichencourage individuals to saveand shop around for health care,well be able to bring down costsand cover more people.
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We dont need to rip up theexisting health care system andstart over. We already have thebest high-tech medical centers inthe world and insurance programsin place that cover 85 percent ofAmericans. We can just extendthose proven programs, publicand private, to cover morepeople. We can also give employersfinancial incentives to covermore of their employees. Thefederal government already haseffective health programs for theelderly (Medicare), the poor(Medicaid), low-income children(CHIP) and its own employees. Ifwe expand the eligibility for thoseplans, well be able to cover moreuninsured people with the leastdisruption to those who alreadyhave insurance. Gradually expandingthe current system is themost practical way to cover morepeople without breaking thebudget.
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Decent health care ought to be abasic right, not something thatdepends on the job you hold. Ourpatchwork health care system ofprivate insurance and governmentprograms simply isnt working.Its time to try what Canadaand most European countriesalready have: a national, government-run health care system. Thesystem would work much likeMedicare, except that everyonewould be entitled to coverage,regardless of age, income or jobstatus. Like Medicare, youd stillpick your own doctor, but thegovernment would get the bill.Weve debated what to do abouthealth care for years, but nothingelse has solved the problem. This isthe only way to solve the problemof the uninsured, once and for all.
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