There is one thing that a health care system cannot be. It cannot be everything for everyone. It cannot simultaneously be 1) universal, 2) comprehensive, and 3) affordable.This is the impossible trinity of objectives.Bernstam looks at governmental attempts to provide universal health care throughout the developed world, he finds none of them accomplish more than two of the objectives.
A system may be universal and affordable, but then will ration care - not be comprehensive. Or it may be comprehensive and affordable but not universal - only available to those who can afford it. Attempts to be both universal and comprehensive, to offer everything to everybody, are never affordable and basically don't happen.
If you only read one policy article about health care funding, this should be it.
