US Health Policy and Market Reforms An Introduction

Most Americans are familiar with the views advanced by one side of the debate. Medicare for All, which would have the federal government run a public insurance plan for the entire country, is the paradigmatic reform advanced by those who favor full governmental control. It and similar reforms have been discussed widely in recent years in high-profile political campaigns.
The alternative—more reliance on market forces—is less well-known or understood, partly because there is less consensus among those who favor it on what it would entail.
This volume attempts to describe in some detail one version of such a plan. It also explains the major features of current US health policy and the relevant history of how we arrived at this point, because the proposed reforms are best understood in relation to the incumbent system. In general terms, the recommended changes would inject more discipline and consumer choice into what already exists rather than replace it with something entirely new.
The focus of the recommendations is not on better readiness for the next pandemic or public health crisis. That certainly should be a priority for Congress. However, even if such improvements get approved, the nation's underlying system of insurance and care providers will remain mired in dysfunction. The focus of this volume is on reforming that system to better deliver services that patients need regardless of whether a pandemic is creating global turmoil.