How to reform the health care system given the experience of past failures.

: There have been a number of attempts at a large-scale reform of the US health care system during the 20th century and all have failed. Problems continue to exist, however, in the organization, delivery, and financing of health care services. Under current economic conditions, the possibility for both reform and recovery is slim if at all. In this article, we discusses a realistic option to incremental reform that takes a more realistic view of the US social and economic situation of the 21st century and is more consistent with basic US values. Perhaps it is time for reformers to take such a pragmatic approach to this long-term problem.