Healthcare in The Reconstruction Papers

We have lined up writers for all but one topic we intend to cover in the second issue of The Reconstruction Papers. This has allowed us to give some sneak peeks of what you can expect to be covered in it. All of these may evolve in the writing and editing process but we know our readers enjoy getting a window into the process, to say nothing of getting excited for the essays themselves.

Healthcare has been a flashpoint of politics for nearly my entire life, from "Hillarycare" in 1993 to "Obamacare" in 2010, Democrats have wanted move our system closer to a single payer model that essentially every other peer nation in the world does some version of. The Affordable Care Act, while a flawed attempted compromise (that Republicans did not even end up coming to the table over), did make significant improvements to the status quo.

In 2016, Donald Trump ran, among other things, on "repealing and replacing" the ACA. The attempts to do so in 2017 were halting, unpopular, and ultimately less than total, though real damage was done. What's been striking since then is that it is hardly spoken of at all any more. Even as the second Trump term has seen the most extensive damage to our medical system done since...the first term, during COVID, it is not something they are touting, they're not bragging about ending Obamacare particularly.

It is impossible to overstate the extent of the harm that has been done to our system of developing, providing, and paying for medical care in this country. The effects will be felt for generations.

Few areas, therefore, are more in need of complete reconstruction.

Charles Gaba knows more about the details of ACA than possibly any other living person. I was already talking with him about potentially writing about healthcare for us, and once we decided we would be doing more issues of The Reconstruction Papers, it was a no-brainer to ask him to write an essay on healthcare for it.

He has agreed, so this is another critical topic you can expect a considered, informed, and ambitious perspective on if you get our next issue

If you have an US address, you can pre-order the issue with his essay right now for $60. You will also receive a copy of this year's issue while there is still inventory left.

International readers can find their options here.