Code Red

About once every eight years, concerns about health care access rise to a fever pitch.  Unfortunately, this always occurs the year before a major election.  What can be done after the confetti is picked up, the next President is sworn in, and Congress again turns its back on health care reform?  Here is a modest plan “B.”

Will and I have seen health reform proposals come and go.  Will Obama/Clinton/McCain’s proposals share the same fate?

The Democratic battle continues, and Hillary Clinton will try to draw distinctions between her health plan and Barack Obama’s.  But how different are they?  We take a look at the major point of contention--enrollment mandates.

Is it possible for the United States to have too much health insurance and too little health insurance at the same time?  Is it possible to identify one simple policy change that would simultaneously improve efficiency, save money, and free up the resources needed to cover the uninsured?  Is there a policy issue about which economists are in near universal agreement?  All of these questions have the same answer.  Read on!

We want to know what you think about these issues.  Please feel free to send in your comments.  We will publish them unedited, provided you keep them clean!

It now looks like John McCain has sewn up the Republican nomination.  I went to his web site and was pleased to find a long list of talking points about health care, even if there is no detailed proposal (such as those offered by Obama and Clinton.) let’s look at his health reform platform.

All of the leading Presidential candidates are talking about the importance of measuring and reporting hospital and physician quality.  But rhetoric and reality are likely to remain nodding acquaintances at best, if my recent experience is any indication. 

We hope to trigger a conversation about the best ways to think about cost containment.  This exchange suggests that a focus on costs may not be such a good idea.  Tell us what you think!

The portability of health insurance is one of the most important policy issues facing this nation, yet it seems to have been overlooked in the ongoing debate about health reform.  I recently heard from my dear friends, Don and Sue (not their real names), and their unsuccessful effort to obtain health insurance is a startling reminder of how our health care system remains screwed up. 

You remember Don and Sue.  They were successful consultants who loved to sail.  They had always wanted to cross the Pacific Ocean and realized that they had better get going before they got too old.  So they left their jobs, bought a beautiful boat, and set out for the journey of their lifetimes.  They have been at sea for two years, living out their dream.  Unfortunately, Sue has developed a chronic disease that is only going to get worse.  She can still perform her duties on the boat, but not for much longer.  In the years to come, she is going to require a lot of medical care that won’t come cheap.  Don and Sue did okay for themselves in their careers, but not so well that they can ignore the medical bills.  And like everyone else, there are other unpredictable illnesses that await them. 

The recent 5-0 ruling by the FTC Commissioners in the Evanston Northwestern Healthcare (ENH) antitrust case was a real body blow to those of us who support competition in healthcare.  The Commissioners agreed with a federal district judge’s ruling that Evanston and Highland Park Hospitals had achieved excessive market power by forming ENH.  But instead of affirming the judge’s order to force ENH to split up, the Commissioners instead ruled that ENH could remain intact provided that the member hospitals set prices independently.  The FTC seems to be saying that it is okay for hospitals to dominate a market, so long as they do it with a nod and wink.