Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Meaningful health care options
[Jack Strayer, "Steps toward affordable care," The Lawrence Journal-World, 19 October 2004.]
No mention of HSAs here, but the point remains the same - a focus on freeing up the private sector to meet health care needs will be far more effective than expanding government-based programs to address the problems created by government regulation and intervention in the first place:
Everyone running for office in the upcoming election is talking about health care. And who can blame them? When 45 million Americans lack health insurance and costs continue to soar, voters are seeking solutions.
Unfortunately, in the heat of a political campaign many candidates often push simplistic but misguided solutions -- increased government control of health care, job-killing employer mandates or the import of potentially unsafe medicines.
Such programs may be politically popular at first blush, but they're economically unsustainable and threaten the quality, safety and innovation of our health care system.
Politicians looking for guidance on health care should pay attention to a number of recent developments in the private sector that hold great promise for sharply reducing the ranks of the uninsured.
One of the basic principles of insurance is that it gives the beneficiary access to negotiated pricing. Several private-sector initiatives now offer the uninsured the benefit of negotiated prices -- a longtime staple of private health insurance, but heretofore unavailable to the unemployed and to lower-paid working Americans struggling to afford coverage.
Numerous hospitals, for example, now are voluntarily offering discounted rates to people who lack insurance. Insurers are increasingly developing low-cost basic coverage policies aimed at uninsured families and individuals.
And many pharmaceutical companies are supporting Together Rx, a program that helps low-income seniors save approximately 20 to 40 percent on brand-name prescription medicines.
This month, pharmacists nationwide began filling prescriptions under Pfizer Pfriends, a new program that provides uninsured patients of any age or income level substantial savings on that company's prescription medicines -- savings similar to those insured Americans take for granted.
Despite their desire for answers, voters are skeptical about campaign sound bites on health care because they realize there is no one-size-fits-all solution for all of the nation's 45 million uninsured.
Candidates would be wise to tone down their political rhetoric and emulate the private sector's focus on common-sense steps aimed at helping the uninsured gain access to coverage. The task ahead is difficult, but working together Americans can achieve high-quality health care for everyone.
[Matthew Hisrich, "A Better Alternative to Kerry Plan Already Exists," The Topeka Capital-Journal, 8 August 2004.]
[Jack Strayer, "Steps toward affordable care," The Lawrence Journal-World, 19 October 2004.]
No mention of HSAs here, but the point remains the same - a focus on freeing up the private sector to meet health care needs will be far more effective than expanding government-based programs to address the problems created by government regulation and intervention in the first place:
Everyone running for office in the upcoming election is talking about health care. And who can blame them? When 45 million Americans lack health insurance and costs continue to soar, voters are seeking solutions.
Unfortunately, in the heat of a political campaign many candidates often push simplistic but misguided solutions -- increased government control of health care, job-killing employer mandates or the import of potentially unsafe medicines.
Such programs may be politically popular at first blush, but they're economically unsustainable and threaten the quality, safety and innovation of our health care system.
Politicians looking for guidance on health care should pay attention to a number of recent developments in the private sector that hold great promise for sharply reducing the ranks of the uninsured.
One of the basic principles of insurance is that it gives the beneficiary access to negotiated pricing. Several private-sector initiatives now offer the uninsured the benefit of negotiated prices -- a longtime staple of private health insurance, but heretofore unavailable to the unemployed and to lower-paid working Americans struggling to afford coverage.
Numerous hospitals, for example, now are voluntarily offering discounted rates to people who lack insurance. Insurers are increasingly developing low-cost basic coverage policies aimed at uninsured families and individuals.
And many pharmaceutical companies are supporting Together Rx, a program that helps low-income seniors save approximately 20 to 40 percent on brand-name prescription medicines.
This month, pharmacists nationwide began filling prescriptions under Pfizer Pfriends, a new program that provides uninsured patients of any age or income level substantial savings on that company's prescription medicines -- savings similar to those insured Americans take for granted.
Despite their desire for answers, voters are skeptical about campaign sound bites on health care because they realize there is no one-size-fits-all solution for all of the nation's 45 million uninsured.
Candidates would be wise to tone down their political rhetoric and emulate the private sector's focus on common-sense steps aimed at helping the uninsured gain access to coverage. The task ahead is difficult, but working together Americans can achieve high-quality health care for everyone.
[Matthew Hisrich, "A Better Alternative to Kerry Plan Already Exists," The Topeka Capital-Journal, 8 August 2004.]
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