Baltimore Sun Examines U.S. Health Care System, Efforts for Reform

Baltimore Sun Examines U.S. Health Care System, Efforts for Reform
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Health care crisis


Costs are up. Coverage is down. And politicians don't agree on the answers.


By Larry Williams | Ideas Editor October 28, 2007 The debate now raging over how much money the federal government should spend to provide basic health insurance for poor children is just an opening skirmish in what is likely to be an all-out war in coming months and years over how to pay for health care in America.

Almost every presidential candidate in both parties has come up with some proposal that promises to control the costs, broaden the availability and upgrade the quality of health care. At the same time, a growing number of states and localities -- including Howard County and the state of Maryland -- are seeking local answers to the problem.

Health care is in the spotlight for an array of reasons -- a growing proportion of Americans have no health insurance, costs of providing care are rising far faster than the overall rate of inflation, costs to workers of employer-provided insurance are growing while benefits are limited and the costs of coping with catastrophic illness are placing a growing burden on families and communities.

The challenge is finding ways to provide every American with quality affordable health care without dictating how the care will be offered....