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The cost of health

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Many believe that health care is a basic human right, but there are many Americans who are not receiving the care that they need. This time on “Take Care,” we explore the cost of health – why health care is so expensive and how health care could change. We’ll also take a look at hospital visits and surprise bills, plus one doctor’s prescription for fixing (not perfecting) our health care system.

First, a conversation with Olga Khazan, staff writer at The Atlantic, about how expensive health care can be. We cover many of the ideas in her latest piece, “Americans are going bankrupt from getting sick.”

With the presidential election on the horizon, health care as we know it could change. Dan Goldberg joins us from the offices of POLITICO to discuss the state of health care today and where it could be headed. Goldberg is a health care reporter for POLITICO Pro.

Dr. Vin Gupta, assistant professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine and of health metrics sciences at the University of Washington is with us to share his thoughts on fixing our health care system, not perfecting it. And we examine the cost of dying as 10% of all health care spending in this country is spent on end-of-life care.

For the latest in health, the Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker monitors how well he U.S. health care system is performing. We get the latest data from Matthew Rae, associate director for the program on the health care marketplace at the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Join us this Sunday, September 29 at 7 p.m. and again Friday, October 4 at 1 p.m. for "Take Care" on WRVO Public Media.