Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Clinton v. Stossel: The Future of Healthcare in America::By Carrie Lukas


http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CarrieLukas/2007/09/19/clinton_v_stossel_the_future_of_healthcare_in_america

Stossel highlights the inherent problems created by insurance and any third party payer system: people (and providers) have no idea how much treatments cost and have no motivation to spend resources efficiently. "What if you had grocery insurance? You wouldn't care what things cost. Why buy hamburger. I'll just buy steak. Why look for sales. Why use coupons. I'll just buy everything. My insurance company's paying."

Governments have a way of addressing that problem of over-consumption: those offering "free" healthcare also ration services. As Stossel depicts with numerous examples from Canada and the United Kingdom, appointments with specialists, high end procedures, and everyday checkups may be free, but there are often month long waits to get those treatments.

Stossel suggests that the real cure for our healthcare problem is to change the fundamental dynamic within the system by putting individuals back in charge of their healthcare dollars with an incentive to use them wisely. He showcases Whole Foods, which, under the leadership of CEO John Mackey, switched to a system of health savings accounts. Employees have high deductible insurance plans and savings accounts with money they can use to help pay their healthcare costs. Unused money stays in their account, accruing interest, and is available for future use. Employees describe how their habits changed under this new system: suddenly they were asking doctor offices how much a visit costs and what kind of service they would receive during their appointment.


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