Ezra Klein opines in his recent editorial in the LA Times that conditions are, if not ripe for a move towards universal coverage, at least we’re getting closer to harvest time.
A couple of (relatively) minor nits. Hospital profits are not exactly “skyrocketing”. Yes, they’re healthier than they have been of late, but low-single-digit margins are not even out of sight, much less out of the troposphere. Second, Ezra claims that the nation won’t countenance a continuation of today’s health care mess. I disagree – as one who said “we can’t take it anymore” ten years ago, I’ve been amazed by Americans’ ability to take it, at least when it comes to over-priced health care of mediocre quality.
Those points aside, Ezra’s inventory of environmental and political factors is compelling. There is no doubt that we are getting closer. There is also no doubt (at least in my mind) that Americans’ ability to tough it out, endure, and/or ignore this problem is akin to the legendary endurance of the Russian peasant.
Until and unless a plurality of major corporations, labor groups, and middle-class voters decides this is really important, it’s highly unlikely we will have a major move towards universal coverage in the next year or two.
Therefore, I’ll stick with my prediction of last year – we’ll have some form of universal coverage before 2011. And not too much before.

One of the better reviews of the current push for transparency in drug pricing was published by the Napa Valley Times (with assistance from the WSJ).

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