Health Reform and the Presidential Candidates

Abstract

Submitted for publication March 31, 2008 Accepted for publication April 23, 2008 From the American Enterprise Institute, Washington, DC. Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Dr. Joseph R. Antos, Wilson H. Taylor Scholar in Health Care and Retirement Policy, American Enterprise Institute, 1150 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. E-mail: jantos@aei.org. © 2008 AACE. The presidential campaign has helped crystallize the discontent that many Americans have with our health system. It appears that most people are willing to consider significant health system reforms. However, we should be wary of grandiose campaign rhetoric: the next president will have less maneuvering room than he or she might now claim. Instead of sweeping changes, we are likely to see more modest, but in some ways more meaningful, policies that can form the basis for real improvements in American health care.