Understanding the Choices in Health Care Reform

This commentary is the joint product of a group of concerned scholars, many of them long associated with this journal. It assesses the debate over health care reform with the goal of minimizing the many myths and misunderstandings that exist. We address eight issues most likely to engender confusion: (1) the question whether cost control and universal coverage are contradictory goals, (2) the definition of universal coverage, (3) sources of bureaucracy in a reformed health care system, (4) the meanings of “competition” and “regulation,” (5) the difference between short- and long-term measures to control costs, (6) subsidization of universal health care, (7) the role of medical care professionals in decision making about the delivery of services, and (8) the meaning of “choice” for patients and caregivers.