A. Overview

In our secular society, human health is one of the most important values. This helps explain why the US spends 14% of its GDP on health care. The majority of Americans are vitally concerned about their health. To the extent that people believe that health care institutions and finance mechanisms affect their personal health, they are vitally concerned with these institutions and mechanisms. Many of us are also concerned about the provision and finance of health care for our fellow Americans, and we believe that the health care system reflects the values and merit of our society. Unfortunately, many Americans have no health insurance and must either pay for medical care out of their pockets or go without. This occurs despite federal and state expenditure of hundreds of billions of dollars to provide heath care.