How Much Will Health Care Reform Cost?

Much of the current apprehension about health care reform stems from the assumption that a universal and comprehensive health care system would necessarily cost more than we are now spending. The assumption is reasonable; after all, we would be expanding coverage, and you can't get something for nothing. But this view presumes that we are now getting our money's worth. I will here argue that this is far from the case -- that, on the contrary, we are now spending so much on health care that we could cover all medically indicated care for all Americans without any additional spending. . . .