A recent poll shows that most Americans say the country’s health care system is handled poorly, and even more are frustrated by the cost of prescription drugs. These frustrations are growing more common among people living in a nation where health care spending topped $4.1 trillion in 2020 — almost a fifth of the country’s gross domestic product — but health indicators like life expectancy and infant mortality are falling behind those in other industrialized nations.
Getting access to health care often is tied to employment and income, creating an inequitable system where millions are left uninsured or with inadequate health insurance coverage. As the Commonwealth Foundation