Health care accounts for almost one-fifth of the American economy, making it the most expensive system in the world, by a wide margin.
And the cost isn't going up because we're using more health care, but because of the prices we pay for those services.
What's next: There's agreement between the parties that the way we pay for health care — paying doctors and hospitals for each service they provide — is broken. The Affordable Care Act tried to advance a more integrated model and tie payments to the quality of care. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar shares those goals.
Be smart: One person's health care spending is another person's salary. For the system overall to spend less money, health care providers will have to make less money. And that's always a hard sell.