Universal with a twist

For almost 50 years, private and publicly funded healthcare plans have tried to make healthcare more accessible by making the cost of that care more convenient. Making healthcare more accessible by making costs more convenient is an effective method of encouraging patients to obtain care before it becomes emergent and difficult to manage. But making healthcare appear affordable does not really reduce the true cost of medical care. In fact, adding convenience to any service always adds to the cost of that service. As people look seriously into healthcare reform, they need to re-examine some of the well-intentioned policies they have adopted in the past that have unfortunately contributed to their healthcare delivery-system problems.