A physician explains why it’s so difficult:

Certainly, there are dedicated people in Washington, D.C., who recognize the peril that we are in. The trouble is, the system to fix American health care is wholly unsuited to the task confronting it.

Governmental responsibility for health care is split among multiple committees and offices. Each has its own rabidly defended turf and obsesses over its own bureaucratic interests, rather than focusing on the broader public good . . .

. . . The frustrating thing is that there are good ideas out there, if only they would be considered. For example, Congress could require the president to produce an integrated national health care strategy every four years, as the Pentagon does with its Quadrennial Defense Review, to force the government and governmentally funded groups to adopt a less haphazard approach.

(via GruntDoc)