Healthcare reform debate in the United States

Health care in the United States
Government Health Programs
Federal Employees Health Benefits Program Indian Health Service Veterans Health Administration Military Health System / TRICARE Medicare Medicaid / State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) Prescription Assistance (SPAP)
Private health coverage
Health insurance in the United States Consumer-driven health care Flexible spending account (FSA) Health Reimbursement Account Health savings account (HSA) High-deductible health plan (HDHP) Medical savings account (MSA) Private Fee-For-Service (PFFS) Managed care (CCP) Health maintenance organization (HMO) Preferred provider organization (PPO) Exclusive provider organization (EPO) Medical underwriting
Health care reform law
Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (1986) Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (1996) Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (2003) Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (2005) Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (2009) Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010)
State level reform
Massachusetts health care reform Oregon Health Plan Vermont health care reform SustiNet (Connecticut) Dirigo Health (Maine)
Municipal health coverage
Fair Share Health Care Act (Maryland) Healthy Howard (Howard Co., Maryland) Healthy San Francisco My Health LA Healthy Way LA
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The healthcare reform debate in the United States has been a political issue for many years, focusing upon increasing coverage, decreasing the cost and social burden of healthcare, insurance reform, and the philosophy of its provision, funding, and government involvement.

According to a 2015 report from The Commonwealth Fund, the United States pays almost twice as much towards healthcare per capita than other wealthy countries with universal healthcare, although under ObamaCare the cost of healthcare ceased to rise. Despite the amount spent on healthcare, patient outcomes are poorer, life expectancy is lower, and the infant mortality rate is the highest and in some cases twice as high when compared with other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Also highlighted in their report is data that shows that although Americans have one of the lowest percentages of daily smokers, they have the highest mortality rate for heart disease, a significantly higher obesity rate and more amputations due to diabetes. Other health related issues highlighted were that Americans over the age of 65 have a higher percentage of the population with two or more chronic conditions and the lowest percentage of that age group living (Squires and Anderson).

Some medical researchers say that patient satisfaction surveys are a poor way to evaluate medical care. Researchers at the RAND Corporation and the Department of Veterans Affairs asked 236 elderly patients in two different managed care plans to rate their care, then examined care in medical records, as reported in Annals of Internal Medicine. There was no correlation. "Patient ratings of health care are easy to obtain and report, but do not accurately measure the technical quality of medical care," said John T. Chang, UCLA, lead author.

The United States spends a higher proportion of its GDP on healthcare.

Proponents of healthcare reforms involving expansion of government involvement to achieve universal healthcare argue that the need to provide profits to investors in a predominantly free market health system, and the additional administrative spending, tends to drive up costs, leading to more expensive provision.

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