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This publication is a revised and updated version of a previous issue-in-brief titled Health Care in America: How Can We Make it More Affordable?

(The following is excerpted from the introduction to this issue-in-brief.)

Nearly three out of four Americans today worry that their income will not keep up with rising prices...These worries outstrip anxieties about losing a job, terrorist attacks, crime, and losing savings in the stock market.

The questions we must address are: How can we get the health care we require, in the face of rising costs?  How can we pay for what we need?

This issue framing presents three approaches for deliberation:

Approach #1: Reduce the Threat of Financial Ruin

Proponents of this approach say we need to make health insurance that covers major medical expenses available to everyone.

Approach #2: Restrain Out-of-Control Costs

Health-care costs are too high for too many people.  This approach holds that they should be reduced directly through price controls and other means.

Approach #3: Provide Coverage as a Right

Proponents of this approach say that health care coverage is something every citizen is entitled to.

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