For decades, we’ve known Medicare’s financial challenges were coming. The math hasn’t changed. The program continues to spend more than it brings in, and the demographic reality is unavoidable: more retirees, fewer workers, and escalating healthcare costs.

When most people think about the cost of healthcare, they look at billing, drug prices, or insurance premiums. What they don’t see is the hidden cost that providers shoulder to comply with the rules. Every regulation comes with a price, not just in dollars, but also in terms of time, infrastructure, staffing, and attention. And when policymakers underestimate that cost, it distorts everything from reimbursement to patient access...