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Victor R. Fuchs

JAMA. 1993;269(13):1678-1679.

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

YOU are to be congratulated for recognizing the gravity of the crisis in health care. But please do not try to present a detailed plan for health care within 100 days. The problems are too complex and the public's understanding of them is too imperfect. Instead, you should present to the Congress and the public a clear statement of, and rationale for, your goals for health care and your basic approach to achieving these goals.

If your goals include covering all Americans for a package of essential services, sharing the costs of this package fairly, and slowing significantly the rate of growth of health expenditures, do not imagine that incremental reform of the present system can do the job. Only comprehensive change in finance and organization has a chance of success.

The public, however, is not ready for comprehensive change. Most Americans have health insurance. Most Americans are satisfied with . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
From the Departments of Economics and Health Research and Policy, Stanford University and National Bureau of Economic Research, Stanford, Calif.

Footnotes
Reprint requests to National Bureau of Economic Research, 204 Junipero Serra Blvd, Stanford, CA 94305-8715 (Mr Fuchs).

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