Health care in the United Slates is allegedly in a state of crisis. High<br >and rising costs， inadequate numbers of medical and paramedical<br >personnel， a higher infant mortality rate in 1969 than in thirteeil other<br >countries， a lower life expcclancy in 1065 for males than in seventeen<br >other countries， and poor emergency room and ambulatory care are<br >among the diverse facts or allegations which have .justified a wide var-<br >iety， of proposed retorms. And yet the numbers of health personnel， the<br >proportion of the gross national product spent on health care， and the<br >sheer quantity of services rendered have grown considerably faster than<br >the economy its a whole. <br > If health care is in "crisis" now， then it was in crisis ten， twenty， and<br >forty years ago as ~vcll. Several qualified observers have commented on<br >the similarity between the 1932 analysis by the Committee on the Costs<br >of Medical Care2 and reports isstied thirty-five or more years later. Dr.<br >Sumner N. Rosen， an economist on the staff of the Institute of Public<br >Administration in New York City. has said that the "catalogue of<br >problems drawn up almost forty years ago strongly resembles the latest<br >list--inadequate services， insufficient funds， understaffed hospitals.<br >Virtually nolhing has changed." Economist Eli Ginzberg， summar-<br >izing the results of his study of New York City， concludes， "While<br >changes have occurred in response to emergencies， opportunities， and<br >alternalives in the market place， the outstanding finding is the inertia<br >of the system as a whole. ~<br > "Crises" arc usually creations ot" specific interest groups seeking to<br >make political capital out of a situation that has existed for many years<br >and will continue to exist after the "crisis" has disappeared from<br >public vicar. The New York City hospitals， as well as prisons， schools，<br >weliare system， and police corruption， are cases in point. The mass<br >