In a world rife with hyperbole, it is shockingly, depressingly accurate to observe that our country has an “affordability crisis” in healthcare; Americans currently hold more than $220 billion in outstanding medical debt, the average family of four shells out more than $32,000 a year for it, and, collectively, we all spend $5 trillion. So, it’s easy and right to applaud the U.S. Congress for its stated determination – regularly expressed over many years, and certainly this year — to determine why we’re in a crisis, and how we might solve it. Compelling data says hospital reform holds the key.

Last week’s joint House Energy and Commerce and House Ways and Means hearing was, reportedly, the first of five in a series, and seemed a good-faith effort. What follows are several suggested questions and areas of examination for the remaining four sessions. 

If American hospitals account for fully a third — more than $1.5 trillion — in annual U.S. healthcare spending, why are they so often crowded, and feature longer wait times and shorter doctor-patient interactions?

More importantly, why has hospital “care” been so thoroughly degraded over the years? Not just relative to the American “standard,” but also to........

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