Republicans, Dems Differ on Health Care Goals—Cost, Coverage, Quality—Which Is Your Priority?

It was interesting to note a comment made by Senator Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) during last week’s Democratic presidential debate. Regarding health care policy Harris said, “For a Democrat to be running for president with a plan that does not cover everyone, I think is without excuse.” Harris, obviously, places coverage as the top policy goal for health care.

Health care policy has three goals: cost, coverage and quality. Americans want the highest quality health care, at a reasonable price that covers as many Americans as possible. There is a specific priority for those goals.

Historically, the first goal was to provide the highest quality health care. In spite of the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 which seemed to re-arrange the priorities, Americans continue to primarily demand the highest quality health care. In spite of what some studies conclude, the U.S. has probably achieved that goal.

The U.S. is usually ranked between the 10th and 15th best health care system in the world. The countries ahead of the U.S. all are countries with socialized medicine. The criteria for ranking usually includes something about coverage, mortality rates, patient rights, access, equity and spending as a percent of GDP.

However, if the criteria focused on availability of the latest techniques, achieving the best outcomes in the shortest time period and quick access to the latest technology, the rankings would likely change. Personally, based on what I have seen, if I was severely injured or had a serious illness, I would much rather be in the U.S. than any other country.