IMPROVING HEALTH CARE IN US

Reforming the US health care system presents a daunting challenge, and there will be no shortage of proposals as the Obama administration prepares to handle it. Appropriately, the early dialogue has focused on extending coverage to the uninsured. However, any reform also needs to address the underlying problem—the relentless annual growth in the cost of health care—or reform will ultimately be inadequate. Poor affordability contributes directly to the unacceptably high number of uninsured Americans and presents a grave threat to the system’s sustainability.