Marcia Angell

According to Marcia Angell in the following viewpoint, the American health care system views health as a commodity. As a result, she argues, a large portion of the money paid for health care gets diverted from care to health care organizations’ administrative and marketing costs and profits. A single-payer health care system, in which a new tax earmarked for health care would cover all health expenses for the nation, would eliminate unnecessary costs and ensure health coverage for everyone, Angell maintains. Angell, the former editor in chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, is a senior lecturer in social medicine at Harvard Medical School.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. In the author’s opinion, what is the criterion for receiving health care in the current system"
2. What dilemma...