Barriers to eliminating waste in US health care

A majority of Americans believe that our health system is greatly in need of major reform. As the presidential election of 2008 approaches both of the Democratic candidates have had serious reform proposals. Although Dennis Kucinich advocated a single payer, non-profit universal system of care, both of the major contenders steered clear of such unitary solutions. They supported, instead, pluralistic programs including employer responsibility, government investments and, in the case of Hillary Clinton, an individual requirement to acquire insurance. Even these cautious proposals are being denounced as socialized medicine by the Republican opposition, which mainly proposes tax changes, increased tax credits and efforts to increase market competitiveness. Organized European social health insurance models or more organized national health systems as in the UK, the American Veterans Administration, or Kaiser-Permanente health plan are off the table.