Regina Herzlinger

On Healthcare Reform, Carrots Work Better than Sticks [The Hill]

Regina Herzlinger — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:00:19 +0000

The U.S. Congress is an assembly of scolds when it comes to raising money for healthcare reform, wanting, for example, to hike the health insurance premiums of people behaving badly — such those who smoke, don’t exercise regularly, or eat too much — and tax those who spend what the Congress considers to be “too much” for health insurance or who consume bad foods like sugary drinks.

Swiss Health Care Thrives Without Public Option [The New York Times]

Regina Herzlinger — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 07:00:32 +0000

Like every other country in Europe, Switzerland guarantees health care for all its citizens. But the system here does not remotely resemble the model of bureaucratic, socialized medicine often cited by opponents of universal coverage in the United States.

Swiss private insurers are required to offer coverage to all citizens, regardless of age or medical history. And those people, in turn, are obligated to buy health insurance.

A Better Health Care Alternative [Forbes]

Regina Herzlinger — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:19:11 +0000

Public plans aren’t cutting it? Look to the Swiss.

Why We Need Universal, Consumer-Driven Health Care [The Richmond Times-Dispatch]

Regina Herzlinger — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 07:00:04 +0000

Health care reform has two goals: to control our gargantuan health care costs and to enable people, especially sick ones, to buy health insurance at an affordable price. The two goals are related — the better we control health care costs, the more people can afford to buy health insurance.

Insurance Supermarket Risks [The Washington Times]

Regina Herzlinger — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:00:23 +0000

Breathing a sigh of relief after President Obama seemed to waffle about the public plan?

Not so fast.

We Don’t Need a Public Option [National Review Online]

Regina Herzlinger — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 07:00:15 +0000

Transparency can keep health care competitive.

Health-care reformers who want a public health-insurance option to keep private health insurers competitive have a point: If there were ferocious competition in the private health-insurance markets, prices would be better controlled. In Switzerland, for example, competition among that country’s 85 private health insurers resulted in negative price increases since 2005 and considerable public support. In the U.S., by contrast, health-insurance prices rose by 16.5 percent and Americans hold insurers in low regard.

Government Should Get Back to the Basics on Health Care [RealClearPolitics]

Regina Herzlinger — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 07:00:16 +0000

Those who worry about a growing role for government in health care reform have reason for concern: the government already plays a surprisingly large role in our health care system. Like Thomas Jefferson, the father of the Democratic Party, they may feel that: ‘Were we directed from Washington when to sow and when to reap, we shall soon want bread.’

Health Care’s Taxing Problem [National Review Online]

Regina Herzlinger — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 07:00:29 +0000

By starting with the tax system, Congress can ultimately achieve true reform.

Mainstream economists generally agree that current U.S. tax policy for health insurance is fundamentally irrational, regressive, and ultimately destructive. Fixing this system should be one of Congress’s top priorities when it comes to health reform. Sadly, the current Congressional health-reform proposals would leave the worst feature of the current system in place and make a bad situation worse.

Some Inconvenient Truths About Medicare and the New ‘Public Plan’ [Real Clear Politics]

Regina Herzlinger — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 07:00:08 +0000

The fundamental problem with health care reform is the absence of realistic plans to reduce unit costs. Without cost controls , tens of millions of newly-insured people will further cripple U.S. global competitiveness, which is already grievously injured because the U.S. spends roughly 70 percent more on health care, as a percentage of GDP, than other developed nations, yet cannot point to commensurate 70 percent increases in value.

Limited Choices [National Review Online]

Regina Herzlinger — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:00:39 +0000

Can you get what you need in a government-run health-insurance market?

Virtually all current health-care-reform plans feature a monopoly health-insurance store, operated by federal or state governments, for those who lack employer- or government-sponsored insurance and want to qualify for government subsidies. Advocates claim these monopoly markets will control costs through their purchasing power and enhance price competition by simplifying comparison shopping. When insurers are forced to compete on price, they will prod health-service providers for increased efficiency.