November 19 Meeting: Why is Healthcare Reform So Hard?

As the figure shows, America spends far more on healthcare than other high-income democracies, yet we struggle with access, affordability, and uneven outcomes. Why has comprehensive reform proved to be dauntingly difficult?

Part of the reason is that most efforts tackle only one side of the system. Policies that expand insurance and subsidies strengthen the demand side—helping people pay for care—but leave the supply side of hospitals, doctors, and drug companies largely unchanged. Without competition and innovation on that side, new spending often gets captured in higher prices instead of better care.

Our November 19 meeting will explore how to bring the two sides into balance. Ed Dolan will open with a short introduction based on recent research and examples from both national and state-level experience. We will then turn to your ideas on how to pair reforms that expand access with steps to increase the supply and efficiency of care.

Here are some suggestions for background reading. There is something new here. Some of the items are rather long, so to  help you choose what to read in depth, there are AI summaries for each item.  I'd be interested in feedback on whether the summaries are appropriate or useful -- use the comment box below. (BTW the summaries have been hand-checked for accuracy.)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts