Posted by Michael Wonder on 27 Feb 2017
Achieving universal coverage without turning to a single payer
27 February 2017 - The most popular parts of the Affordable Care Act are the most expensive.
Universal coverage is a top priority not only for Democrats but also for President Trump. Both Republicans and Democrats want to preserve many costly coverage features of the Affordable Care Act, including those that prevent insurers from precluding people with preexisting conditions and those that eliminate lifetime or annual coverage limits. The challenge is how to preserve these features and make insurance affordable.
A primary obstacle to achieving affordable universal coverage is the high costs of those with diseases or costly traumatic events—approximately 20% of individuals accounting for approximately 80% of health care spending.1 So, a key question is how to pay for their care.
