The High Cost of Health Care - New York Times

This Times editorial spells out the issues that drive the costs of health care, without beating the drum for single-payer universal insurance coverage as many people do. It is the costs that drive our problems and unless some political leaders step up with a target of reducing costs, not merely controlling them, and a plan to do so, we will make little progress.

Too many people are in the health care profession and related businesses and far too much inefficiency plagues the system in the U.S. Tough as it will be to swallow, a system that rations testing and care, rather than spends exorbitant sums to prolong life will be the only one that can control costs, but I'll be dead before any politician has the courage to sponsor it.

While the editorial identifies the primary cost drivers, the writers offer no recommendations of consequence to fix things. I am a firm believer that consumers of health care must always pay something for it. Without that incentive broadly applied, no progress on cost control is possible.