Two main reasons are given for the necessity of health reform in the United States: The huge number of uninsured (one out of six Americans) and the escalation of health-care costs, which reached 16 percent of gross domestic product in 2007, or $6,500 per capita. These figures are the highest in the world, and far behind the health-care expenditure in Israel (8% of GDP or $2,000 per capita).

Efficiency and access head the list of problems in the US health-care system. The dilemma which President Barack Obama needs to address is not the trade-off between affordability and efficiency, but r the trade-off between a competitive market (which has experienced failures in the area of health) and the level of government intervention necessary to improve access and fix those...