While these problems have fueled a strong desire for change, there is a divide over how to proceed, which has made reaching consensus elusive.
Medicare for All, which would have the federal government run a public insurance plan for the entire country, is the paradigmatic reform advanced by those who favor full governmental control. This volume attempts to describe in some detail one version of such a plan.It also explains the major features of current US health policy and the relevant history of how we arrived at this point, because the proposed reforms are best understood in relation to the incumbent system. The focus of the recommendations is not on better readiness for the next pandemic or public health crisis.