Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Krugman vs. Barone on HSAs
[Paul Krugman, "One Nation, Uninsured," The New York Times, 13 June 2005.
Michael Barone, "HSAs Work," Townhall.com, 13 June 2005.]
Comparing and contrasting these two views provides an excellent insight into the debate over the direction of health care in this country. Can we fend for ourselves?
Krugman:
[T]he patchwork system that evolved in the absence of national health insurance is unraveling. The cost of health care is exploding, the number of uninsured is growing, and corporations that still provide employee coverage are groaning under the strain.
So the time will soon be ripe for another try at universal coverage. Public opinion is already favorable: a 2003 Pew poll found that 72 percent of Americans favored government-guaranteed health insurance for all.
Let's ignore those who believe that private medical accounts - basically tax shelters for the healthy and wealthy - can solve our health care problems through the magic of the marketplace. The intellectually serious debate is between those who believe that the government should simply provide basic health insurance for everyone and those proposing a more complex, indirect approach that preserves a central role for private health insurance companies.
While Krugman dismisses anyone who believes in the power of the consumer as intellectually challenged, Michael Barone is apparently confident enough in his mental prowess not to wither in response:
How many times have you heard that health care costs are rising at record rates? Well, they aren't any more.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that health care costs rose 7.5 percent in 2004, well under the 11.4 percent rise in 2002. The BLS also reports that costs for employers for health insurance per employee per hour worked has slowed down even more. From March 2001 to March 2002, it rose 11 perecnt; from March 2002 to March 2004, it rose 9 percent each year. But from March 2004 to December 2004, it rose only 3 percent.
Something is going on out there.
The overriding assumption in much commentary on health care finance is that individuals and companies are helpless automata waiting for government action before anything can be done anything about health care costs. But recent developments suggest that, in fact, employers and employees are active players, and that provisions of recent legislation that were not much noticed by the commentariat have enabled them to take action that reduces costs and provides increased benefits and incentives for healthier behavior.
We have problems, yes, but we are not helpless.
[Charles W. Van Way, III, MD, "The Strength of a Really Bad Idea," The Flint Hills Center, 8 May 2004.]
[Paul Krugman, "One Nation, Uninsured," The New York Times, 13 June 2005.
Michael Barone, "HSAs Work," Townhall.com, 13 June 2005.]
Comparing and contrasting these two views provides an excellent insight into the debate over the direction of health care in this country. Can we fend for ourselves?
Krugman:
[T]he patchwork system that evolved in the absence of national health insurance is unraveling. The cost of health care is exploding, the number of uninsured is growing, and corporations that still provide employee coverage are groaning under the strain.
So the time will soon be ripe for another try at universal coverage. Public opinion is already favorable: a 2003 Pew poll found that 72 percent of Americans favored government-guaranteed health insurance for all.
Let's ignore those who believe that private medical accounts - basically tax shelters for the healthy and wealthy - can solve our health care problems through the magic of the marketplace. The intellectually serious debate is between those who believe that the government should simply provide basic health insurance for everyone and those proposing a more complex, indirect approach that preserves a central role for private health insurance companies.
While Krugman dismisses anyone who believes in the power of the consumer as intellectually challenged, Michael Barone is apparently confident enough in his mental prowess not to wither in response:
How many times have you heard that health care costs are rising at record rates? Well, they aren't any more.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that health care costs rose 7.5 percent in 2004, well under the 11.4 percent rise in 2002. The BLS also reports that costs for employers for health insurance per employee per hour worked has slowed down even more. From March 2001 to March 2002, it rose 11 perecnt; from March 2002 to March 2004, it rose 9 percent each year. But from March 2004 to December 2004, it rose only 3 percent.
Something is going on out there.
The overriding assumption in much commentary on health care finance is that individuals and companies are helpless automata waiting for government action before anything can be done anything about health care costs. But recent developments suggest that, in fact, employers and employees are active players, and that provisions of recent legislation that were not much noticed by the commentariat have enabled them to take action that reduces costs and provides increased benefits and incentives for healthier behavior.
We have problems, yes, but we are not helpless.
[Charles W. Van Way, III, MD, "The Strength of a Really Bad Idea," The Flint Hills Center, 8 May 2004.]
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