Watch: Affordability Plagues Health Care in Its Shift From Nonprofit to Profit Machine
On What is health? From KFF Health News, distributed by WAMU, Chief Washington Correspondent and Host Julie Rovner sat down with KFF President and CEO Drew Altman to talk about the likelihood of a national health care debate to bring costs under control.
As the midterm elections approach, the cost of health care is the public’s top economic concern, Altman said. Although past reforms have significantly increased the number of people with health insurance, they have failed to address the affordability problem, he said.
Altman said there are two major problems with the U.S. health care system: Americans’ concerns about how to pay for their own medical care and the large share of national spending they consume.
Rovner and Altman also discuss the downstream effects of change, including the impact of the Trump administration’s cost cuts on states, employers, and individuals, as well as lessons learned from past attempts at government reform.
This is the first in a new interview series called “How Would You Fix It?” » In the coming months, Rovner will interview experts and policymakers from varied backgrounds and perspectives, asking each how they could fix the health care system.
An abridged version of this interview will be broadcast on What is health? From KFF Health News.
Altman’s “Beyond the Data” columns – including the column discussed in this interview, “Our Darwinian Approach to Health Care Costs” – can be read here.
