Health care reform is often discussed in terms of cost, insurance, access, and policy. Underneath those debates is a more fundamental question:
What problem are we trying to solve?
In this episode, I explore the idea of universal health care, the Affordable Care Act, and the arguments for making health care accessible to everyone. Along the way, we examine how different definitions of the problem lead to different proposed solutions.
Topics include:
• Health care as a right versus a service
• Access, affordability, and health outcomes
• Why health care costs so much
• Lessons from other countries
• Incentives, tradeoffs, and unintended consequences
• What it would take to provide care more broadly
Rather than starting with a solution, this conversation asks a different question:
Are we solving the right problem?
Because the way we define the problem often determines the solutions we consider possible.
