Health Podcast Library
Season 1Episode 24

How Unaffordable is Health Care and What Can We Do About It?

Jul 21, 2026
58:11

Episode Description

For decades, the cost of medical care, prescription drugs and health insurance has consistently risen faster than general inflation and wage growth, posing financial challenges for government, businesses and people. KFF polling has found that the cost of health care ranks as the top economic worry for adults and their families, and has implications for their financial security and access to care. Even people with insurance say they struggle to afford health care costs, and health care debt is a burden for a large share of Americans. Policymakers and experts across the ideological spectrum define affordability in different ways and have different policy solutions.


On Tuesday, July 21, three experts joined Health Wonk Shop series moderator Larry Levitt for an hour-long discussion of health care affordability. During the discussion, the panelists considered affordability from a variety of perspectives, including how to define affordability, the question of affordability for whom, how to measure it, and what can be done to address affordability and the underlying cost of health care.




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