In a new article in the BMJ journal , Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent for Kaiser Health News, examines the debate over the future of the U.S. health insurance system — a debate that has waxed and waned for the better part of a century. While political parties once argued over whether the government should make sure all residents have coverage, the discussion is changing. As the cost of medical services continues to grow faster than most Americans’ incomes, even people with private insurance coverage — which comes with ever-increasing expenses in the form of deductibles and copayments — are finding the cost of care becoming unaffordable. That’s true for Medicare as well. Read the article here .

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