National Health Insurance: Its Politics and Problems

Once again, national health insurance is said to be “impending,” a condition reminiscent of the old quip about Brazil: “It is the land of the future, and always will be.” NHI, to use the official acronym, has long been a brightly wrapped package marked, “Do not open until next election—or the one after that.” At the moment, hopes are high. During the election campaign, Democratic advocates of national health insurance were content with their party’s surface consensus, hedging all bets with talk of “phasing in” NHI should money prove scarce. Republicans were not eager to stir up trouble by opposing the one example of “big spending” that just might prove popular. In the pr...