Every politician has uttered the words that he or she is for "affordable" health care. The state of Mass think they have it, well sort of.

What is affordable health care? The cost of health care for an individual is the combination of the premium they pay and their out of pocket costs. Generally, the higher the premium the lower out of pocket costs in the form of deductibles and copays and services covered. Conversely the cheaper the coverage the more out of pocket costs there are likely to be.

But in total what is affordable, 10% of income, 5%, more, less? Until we define affordable the phrase is meaningless as part of the health care debate. Let's see, we spend $100 a month for cable, perhaps $20 a week on smoking or $4.00 a day on coffee, etc.

What can we afford on our health? In 1961 many health plans had a deductible of $100 per person (I know because I set those plans up for employers). Just applying general inflation, that $100 deductible should be $692 today...so is a $700 annual deductible "affordable?"

Solve the mystery of affordable in the minds of Americans and you will go a long way toward solving the health care problem. But the real problem is that most Americans think health care should be free.

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