Monday Musing

The Wall Street Journal reports that

Everyone agrees costs for consumers have soared. Drug prices are climbing faster than inflation, a big reason workers’ out-of-pocket expenses for health care leapt 53.5% between 2006 and 2016, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Today, as costs continue to rise, spending on health care makes up nearly 18% of U.S. gross domestic product, more than double health care’s share in 1980. All told, 69% of Americans said reducing health-care costs should be a top priority for the president and Congress, according to a 2019 Pew survey. The number has risen steadily from 59% in 2014.

Nevertheless, 

Because so many people are content with their own coverage, any politician pushing policies deemed too disruptive can easily lose the argument.  For all those who worry about the state of health care in the U.S., an even bigger percentage of Americans—4 out of 5, according to Gallup—rate the quality of their health-care coverage as either “excellent” or “good.”

Tricky situation.  The key in the FEHBlog's opinion is to encourage people to use their healthcare coverage effectively, e.g., take advantage of the "free" preventive care, visit your primary care doctor and take his or her advice.