Several days ago I read a New York Times opinion piece by Zack Cooper about how extension of ACA premium tax credits would be a good thing, but would not solve our problem of health care affordability. The piece was right in my area of interest and expertise (read rabid opinionatedness). I figured I could just write a review of the article which included my experience in why the cost of health care was so high which therefore drives the cost of health insurance, how new trends have made everything worse or different (AI, corporatization of medicine) and what could be done to nudge things in the right direction. Unfortunately I will not be able to just jot off a short and informative post. The whole story is quite a bit more complicated. A little research has revealed to me my ignorance of some of the basic facts that are relevant to this question. So, to start from the beginning, the US Congress has not voted to renew subsidies for insurance policies under the affordable care act...
The cost of health care in the US is higher than anywhere else in the world, and yet we are not healthier than our peer nations. In fact, in terms of such measures as infant mortality and life span, we don't measure up. Why is this? Many people involved in providing or receiving care have some pretty good ideas about what costs so much, and what we can do to reduce costs and improve quality. Sharing these stories is an important step in creating affordable universal health care.