Controlling Costs Is Health Care's Defining Issue

Proponents of government-run health care sometimes frame the reform debate as a choice between universal coverage and a “free market” that leaves many people without needed medical services. This is a misleading depiction of the options. It is possible to provide universal coverage with privately-administered insurance plans, as demonstrated by Switzerland.

The central unanswered question in the U.S. health system is how to discipline costs. The choice is between reliance on regulatory controls put in place by the federal government or injection of stronger financial incentives for consumers into the markets for medical services and insurance.