The most serious health care problem faced by most Americans is affordability. A December Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 62 percent of Americans surveyed, including 62 percent of Republicans and 67 percent of Democrats, were concerned about the position of presidential candidates on health care affordability. Only national security ranked higher among Americans’ concerns.
Another recent poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that the cost of health care, health insurance, and drugs was the most important health issue to voters considering potential presidential candidates. And a recent New York Times/Urban Institute study found that over half of all Americans without health insurance—and 20 percent of Americans with health insurance—face problems dealing with medical debt.
While the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has made health insurance more affordable for the uninsured, premiums and cost-sharing are still too high for many Americans. And cost-sharing has been edging ever higher for the majority of Americans who have coverage through employer-based plans. This post examines the affordability problem and offers suggestions for tackling it that combine approaches in the ACA with proposals by the law’s detractors.
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