Is the U.S. Still Trending Toward Expanded Health Coverage?
<p>The history of health care reform in America reflects a dynamic interaction between the two parties, write James Morone and David Blumenthal, M.D., in the new issue of <em>Health Affairs.</em> Republicans oppose Democratic plans emphasizing public insurance, countering with plans that instead rely heavily on private markets. The next wave of Democratic proposals then absorbs some elements of the latest Republican proposal, and the cycle continues.</p><p>But the assault on the Affordable Care Act suggests this pattern was broken. Morone, a political scientist at Brown University, and Blumenthal, the president of the Commonwealth Fund, look back at the ACA’s passage through a historical lens, beginning with Harry Truman’s universal insurance plan from 1945. They note that, for the first time, Republicans have failed to propose an alternative model for coverage expansion. Moreover, their forceful repeal-and-replace efforts have few historical parallels in the history of U.S. health policy.</p>
<p>Does it remain true that the “arc of history bends toward coverage”?</p>