http://reginaherzlinger.org On Health Care Reform Sun, 08 Nov 2009 10:37:43 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en 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 ... http://reginaherzlinger.org/2009/10/on-healthcare-reform-carrots-work-better-than-sticks-the-hill/ 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 ... http://reginaherzlinger.org/2009/10/swiss-health-care-thrives-without-public-option-the-new-york-times/ Public plans aren't cutting it? Look to the Swiss. http://reginaherzlinger.org/2009/10/a-better-health-care-alternative-forbes/ 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. http://reginaherzlinger.org/2009/09/why-we-need-universal-consumer-driven-health-care-the-richmond-times-dispatch/ Breathing a sigh of relief after President Obama seemed to waffle about the public plan? Not so fast. http://reginaherzlinger.org/2009/09/insurance-supermarket-risks-washington-times/ 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 ... http://reginaherzlinger.org/2009/09/we-dont-need-a-public-option-national-review-online/ 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 ... http://reginaherzlinger.org/2009/08/government-should-get-back-to-the-basics-on-health-care-realclearpolitics/ 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 ... http://reginaherzlinger.org/2009/08/health-care%e2%80%99s-taxing-problem-national-review-online/ 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 ... http://reginaherzlinger.org/2009/07/some-inconvenient-truths-about-medicare-and-the-new-public-plan/ 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 ... http://reginaherzlinger.org/2009/07/limited-choices-national-review-online/