One reason why improving our health-care system is so difficult:

However, there’s another reason why Washington is reluctant to attempt major surgery: For the 158 million or so Americans who are covered by private health insurance, the system works reasonably well and doesn’t need fixing.

Despite all the talk of health-care system failures and the growing number of people who have no health insurance, polls consistently show that Americans rate concerns about health care behind terrorism, the Iraq war and jobs.

The health care system “is working well for a lot of people,” said Melinda Beeuwkes Buntin, a health economist at the Rand Corp., a California-based think tank.