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Mike Mitka

JAMA. 2008;300(16):1863-1868.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

As the presidential hopefuls and their parties put forth proposals for reforming US health care coverage, reality marches on.

Health care insurance premiums continue to outpace inflation. Fewer companies are offering health coverage, and those employers doing so are shifting costs to their employees through increased co-payments and higher deductible levels. And more people, including those with coverage, are going into debt or otherwise finding it difficult to pay their medical bills.

US consumers, regardless of their health insurance coverage status, face increasing health care costs in the form of higher insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses.

"Given the trends, it seems inevitable that employers will continue dropping insurance and employees will not be able to afford it," said Jack Hadley, PhD, a professor and senior health services researcher in the department of Health Administration and Policy at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. "Unless something is done directly . . . [Full Text of this Article]

ACCESSING CARE



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