I've got a new LA Times op-ed on the reemergence of universal health care as a national issue. Check it out.
Update:
•Abstract Nonsense has a very trenchant response to my piece arguing that reform is, indeed, quite a bit less than inevitable and the options for change remain unacceptably fuzzy and disorganized. I'm sort of Marxist about health care: The cost trends, the employer trends, and the coverage trends all suggest to me that the pressure for universal care will grow screamingly intense over the next decade and no politicians will be able to escape it. In part, that's because providing health care is something we already expect the government to do: Through Medicare, through Medicaid, through the VA, through the Indian system. We give them a pass because most folks have private care, but when that becomes untrue or unaffordable, the leeway will rapidly end.
As for the options being too numerous, that may be right. On the other hand, the first steps may be taken by individual states with federal support, leading to a mishmash of different options. It would be annoying, but not surprising.
• Meanwhile, Mort Zuckerman is onboard. And when you've got Mort, anything is possible.
