Looking beyond D.C. debate, Harvard economist zeroes in on cost
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is working to address flaws in the Affordable Care Act while President Trump, upset at the failure of repeal and replace, threatens to gut the law by cutting subsidies to insurers. Republican leaders, meanwhile, seem intent on moving on to other legislative priorities. David Cutler is the Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and a professor of global health and population at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. An expert on the economics of health care, he served as an adviser to President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign. In a Q&A he talked about lessons repeal-minded Republicans might take from failure, out-of-control costs, the potential for bipartisan progress, and more. GAZETTE: Is there a takeaway from the Republicans’ failed attempts to get rid of Obamacare? CUTLER: I think there are probably a couple of messages. One is that one...