A half century of rapidly escalating health care costs has taken a toll on every village, town and city in America, including China, Maine. The town in the far northeast corner of the country has a population of about 4,500 in the off-season, 5,500 when the fish are biting in China Lake. Town officials face the same economic challenges in maintaining roads and infrastructure and in providing education, library, recreation and emergency services as any other place in America. Spending $2.8 trillion on healthcare in America has ripple effects that spread far and wide.
