There is broad agreement across the political spectrum on the need for universal access to health care. Conservatives and progressives use almost the same language in describing their goal. Congressional Republicans call for “coverage protections and peace of mind for all Americans—regardless of age, income, medical conditions, or circumstances.” The Center for American Progress wants to “ensure that all Americans have coverage they can rely on at all times.” We at the Niskanen Center see our task as helping to develop specific U.S. health care reform policies that can make this widely shared goal a reality.

While we are open to a variety of ideas and research for health care reform policy in the U.S., we recognize that high medical costs dominate health care concerns for the poor and the middle class. With that in mind, we see some form of universal health care insurance as the logical conclusion to future reforms. Such coverage could be provided as an extension of Medicare, through private insurance (subsidized as needed), or through some other mechanism. We see universal health care coverage as fully consistent with market-based efforts to increase the efficiency of health care delivery, promote innovation, and encourage informed consumer choice. Learn more about The Niskanen Center’s health care reform policies and the research we’ve done on the subject below.