We live in a time of unprecedented medical advances, when diseases that were fatal a generation ago are now routinely treated. But as the survey described on today's front page found, many of us fear that we may soon be unable to afford this kind of lifesaving care.

As documented in a special report, "Your Health/Your Money," by reporter Tim Bonfield, the scientific survey of 600 Greater Cincinnati adults provides a unique look at how the people of this community view their health care. The survey, taken in January, found that 90 percent of us have some kind of health insurance, which most of us believe to be adequate now. But the emphasis is on now. Fifty-seven percent of those surveyed believe the region's health care is in "crisis," and fears over rising costs beat out all other health-care concerns by a 2-to-1 margin. In other words, we are far more worried about being able to afford the care we may need than we are about getting sick in the first place.

We are bombarded by constant advertisements for new drugs that promise us longer, more active lives. News reports regularly tell us of surgical techniques and therapies that allow people who would have died a few years ago to rise from their sickbeds and resume the business of life.

The only aspect of health care where we are not making progress seems to be the cost.

For that failing people blame everything from drug companies that spend millions on television advertising, to the rising malpractice premiums for doctors and hospitals, to insurance companies motivated by a need to maximize profits.

Employers that used to provide 100 percent of health insurance costs now demand workers pick up an ever-greater share. The cost of health care is now one of the top issues in labor contracts. Discount prescriptions over the Internet and buyers' club excursions to pharmacies in Canada are now common (and sometimes illegal) ways of coping with the costs of taking your medicine.

Medicare reform is expected to be a huge issue in the presidential campaign and Medicaid reform is critical for states coping with huge budget deficits (see editorial below).

The challenge medicine of modern medicine is no longer just finding a cure. It is finding a way to pay for it.