Millions of Americans depend on their jobs for health insurance. But that's not the case in many other wealthy countries. How did the U.S. end up with a system that's so expensive, yet leaves so many people vulnerable? On this episode, how a temporary solution created an everlasting problem. This episode originally ran in 2020 as <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/09/28/917747287/the-everlasting-problem">The Everlasting Problem</a>. To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at <a href="http://plus.npr.org/throughline">plus.npr.org/throughline</a>. Learn more about sponsor message choices: <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a> <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

<description>Millions of Americans depend on their jobs for health insurance. But that's not the case in many other wealthy countries. How did the U.S. end up with a system that's so expensive, yet leaves so many people vulnerable? On this episode, how a temporary solution created an everlasting problem.&lt;em&gt; This episode originally ran in 2020 as &lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/09/28/917747287/the-everlasting-problem"&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Everlasting Problem&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/em&gt;To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at &lt;a href="http://plus.npr.org/throughline"&gt;plus.npr.org/throughline&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Learn more about sponsor message choices: &lt;a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices"&gt;podcastchoices.com/adchoices&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy"&gt;NPR Privacy Policy&lt;/a&gt;</description>

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Health Insurance in America

Health Insurance in America

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