Medical costs are once again rising rapidly, forcing health care back into political prominence. This issue direct affects you as a student, family member, employer, and/or employee. The problem of medical costs is so pervasive that it underlies three quite different policy crises. First is the increasingly rapid unraveling of employer-based health insurance. Second is the plight of Medicaid. Third is the long-term problem of the federal government’s solvency which is largely a problem of health care costs.

Write an eight page paper addressing each of these issues. Be sure to choose a position (of which there are many) and substantiate that position with facts and economic data. Some of the issues which need to be answered are:

Is health care spending a problem?

Is employer-based insurance unraveling?

Medicare and Medicaid

The inefficiencies of the health care.

Single-payer and beyond.

How much health care should we have?

Can we fix health care?