Driving Up the Cost: Economics and the Health Care Crisis

SOMETIMES, BECAUSE OFTHE EMOtional issues involved, the best way to examine the U.S. health care system is through analogy. I lere's one way to look at it:

Imagine there's a new service called "transurance." It's a transportation plan that lets you use

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Even though "transurance" costs a little more than what you pay, the thought of someone else taking the risk for car costs appeals to you. Plus, an added advantage is that the payment can come out of your weekly paycheck pretax.

Costs Up, Quality Down

These new perks change your lifestyle. You stop considering which gas station is cheapest. Instead, you choose the one that's most convenient. And instead of driving around in a six-yearold van, you're driving around in an SUV fresh off the assembly line.

But then bad news comes. The "transurance" agent sits down with you at the end of the year and explains that there will be some changes. Costs have gone up. Gas prices have doubled. Mechanics have unionized. Automakers haven't been giving them the deals they had anticipated. Investments have been good, though, so they'll only have to raise your rate. ..15 percent.