Health Care Reform

James C. Capretta

Hertog Foundation | 2014

No issue has been more dominant in national politics since 2009 than health care. President Obama made reform of health care his top priority during his first year in office, and Congress passed a sweeping reform plan in March 2010. But the issue has not lost its resonance in the ensuing four years. If anything, our political discourse has grown even more contentious, and the debate is certain to continue for several more years.

This issue stirs deep passions in part because it is about more than technocratic health care policy. It’s also about rights and responsibilities, the balance between governmental power and private action, and political power. How the issue is resolved could have important implications for the national economy, the federal budget, and our national political culture.

Image courtesy Obama White House