NEJM Perspective Discusses Need for Universal Health Coverage

"Universal Health Insurance Coverage or Economic Relief -- a False Choice," New England Journal of Medicine: In the perspective, Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor of economics Jonathan Gruber writes that skepticism that "the United States can foot the bill for universal coverage in such economically trying times ... presents a false choice." He adds, "I would counter that now is exactly the right time for universal coverage, because it can play such an important role in growing our economy, while enabling us to shift the focus of health policy discussions to approaches for addressing our largest long-term fiscal challenge: escalating health care costs." According to Gruber, universal coverage, in a sense, is "central" to efforts to address costs "because squaring away a baseline level of coverage will allow policymakers to focus their energies on cost control" (Gruber, NEJM, 1/29).