But slowing the rise of health-care costs can't address the challenge of adding 50 million uninsured to the system while keeping expenditures the same or even somewhat lower than the unsustainable percentage of national wealth that they already represent.
Mr Smith proposes policies to "create a new spirit and rhetoric of fraternity and national solidarity" - a national care service, a national day or a US-style state of the British union address.
In other words, we want our customers to come in and buy from us because we will take care of their needs far better than any online retailer who thinks of them simply as another e-mail address and order number.
The agreement would ostensibly take care of Greece's current debt problems, enabling it to address its longer-term issues and ultimately avoid default.
Bernanke said that access to health care is the first major challenge that health-care reform must address, adding that 47 million Americans, or 16.0% of the population, are currently uninsured.