Charles Krauthammer On Health Insurance Reform

Charles Krauthammer is one of the most astute political columnists of our time.  In addition to being brilliant, he is experienced in the world of healthcare.  He practiced medicine for three years as a resident and then chief resident in psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital before coming to Washington to direct planning in psychiatric research for the Carter administration.  At that time he began contributing articles to The New Republic.  He understands the medical profession and what is needed to improve it.

On Wednesday, Investors.com posted an article by Charles Krauthammer on how to fix healthcare in America.  He points out that the rules and penalties in the healthcare bill currently being considered were pulled out of a hat–they have no relation to real events.  That figures–most members of the Senate and the House of Representatives have limited knowledge and experience with the inner workings of the healthcare insurance industry (other than their own “Cadillac” plan). 

Mr. Krauthammer recommends some basic and simple reforms:

  • Tort reform  –  this will save at least a half a trillion dollars every ten years.  It is not in the bill because lawyers contribute a major part of Democrat campaign funds.
  • The ability to buy health insurance across state lines.  Mr. Krauthammer points out that if we were not able to buy fruit across state lines, people in Wisconsin would probably not eat oranges in the winter.  Setting up a state-run orange grove in Wisconsin would not solve that problem, but that’s what Congress is doing with the ‘public option.’
  • Taxing employer-provided healthcare benefits.  I really hate this one, but it makes sense.  If all of us bought private health insurance, it would be a much more competitive industry (and the government would get major revenue from those people who chose to stay in employer-provided programs).

Mr. Krauthammer concludes:

“Insuring the uninsured is a moral imperative. The problem is that the Democrats have chosen the worst possible method — a $1 trillion new entitlement of stupefying arbitrariness and inefficiency.

“The better choice is targeted measures that attack the inefficiencies of the current system one by one — tort reform, interstate purchasing and taxing employee benefits.

“It would take 20 pages to write such a bill, not 2,000 — and provide the funds to cover the uninsured without wrecking both U.S. health care and the U.S. Treasury.”

I really love the 20 pages part!!!