HSA Man Vs. Healthzilla

Wall Street Journal ^ | October 12, 2004 | DAVID GRATZER

[OESY]

...Basic problems remain the same, however. And so do many of the proposed solutions. In Washington, Democrats continue to push statist prescriptions to America's health care ills; at the state level, legislatures experiment with them. It would be easy, thus, to assume that while Hillary Clinton lost the battle, she is winning the war....

Tomorrow, President Bush shouldn't just emphasize HSAs (which Sen. Kerry, incidentally, opposes). He can map out further reforms that will make health insurance more affordable:

• Tax fairness. While employer contributions to health insurance are non-taxable, individuals must pay in after-tax dollars. Leveling the tax field not only makes health care more affordable, it also corrects the employer-based preference, a carry-over from World War II wage-and-price controls.

• Out-of-state insurance. State regulations have decimated insurance choices and driven up the cost of coverage in many jurisdictions. Because of this, premiums for similar policies differ widely among the states. In New Jersey, according to the Coalition Against Guaranteed Issue, it now costs more to purchase a family health policy than to lease a Ferrari; while in Connecticut, similar coverage is 80% less expensive. The federal government must allow out-of-state purchases of health insurance.

• Deregulation. Health care is choked by an endless list of regulations and restrictive laws that stifle innovation and result in high-cost, low-satisfaction medicine. Clinics and hospitals must comply with more than 100,000 pages of Medicare regulations. Ownership, FDA, Emtala and antitrust laws have stifled innovation further. Is there a sector of the economy that Washington regulated into efficiency?

President Bush should speak simply and clearly: A decade after Hillarycare, there is an alternative that places Americans, not government bureaucrats, in charge of their own health care. He should emphasize this tomorrow night -- and every other night of the campaign.

[OESY]

Dr. Gratzer, a physician, is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.

Suit by Paul Stuart,
health care by Hillary.