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The healthcare debate has lawmakers at odds, and if you are wondering why Congress can’t seem to get a hold on the issue of medical insurance the simple answer is: it’s not easy. A large part of the healthcare debate is spending, and lawmakers must predict how much money the country’s health system will need in the future.
As said in an article by The New England Journal of Medicine, no one can accurately predict what health care expenditures will be 10 years from now, because they will depend on many factors, every one of which is unpredictable. For instance, what health problems will the country face in 2020? No one knows what the incidence of heart disease, cancer, and other major objects of health care spending will be 10 years from now. The prevalence of obesity may continue to increase or reverse its course. New infectious diseases may appear and become widespread. Equally important, and equally difficult to predict, are advances in medicine, or in economic terms, changes in medical technology. New drugs, new devices, new imaging techniques, and new surgical procedures have had a huge impact on health care expenditures in the past and probably will in the future as well.
And then there is the cost of medical advancements. Some advancements are proven to be cost effective while others are seen as wasteful. But how can Congressional leaders know exactly which interventions to invest in?
Healthcare spending becomes a matter of how much a life is worth. It’s a difficult principle to quantify and even more challenging for lawmakers to govern. So as lawmakers struggle to come to common ground on how to make health insurance more affordable, remember, it’s no easy fix.










