Health Care Free Market Solutions.

We have had a year of Democratic proposals whose purpose is not to fix problems with health care cost and access, but simply to give complete power to the government over the People, which is a total reversal of the relationship which has existed in this nation since the founding, which has been that Individual takes precedence over the State, and the government is Of, By, and For the People, that it governs only as long as it has the consent of the governed. We know that Democratic proposals have nothing to do with health care cost or access because any honest economist will tell you that the proposed solutions will increase costs and reduce access.

We have heard only a little about alternative proposals, partly because the state-run media shuts out alternatives, and partly because the Republicans are not good at getting out the message. The points we have heard have been solutions that would work: most notably tort reform and portability across state lines. Since the Democratic Party is a wholly owned subsidiary of the trial lawyers, the first is not going anywhere anytime soon. Portability, which would allow one to purchase from any licensed insurance company anywhere in the country would expand choice in the open market from a small handful of companies to over a thousand. Big government advocates do not like this for two reasons: first, it diminishes the power of the states, which means that state legislators have less power to extract money from lobbyists; secondly, socialists do not want to increase competition in the private sector, because that would reduce the access problem and reduce interest in the so-called competition of a public option. Those are two fixes about which we have heard a little, but not enough.

What we have heard almost nothing about is the fact that the biggest problem we have is that the majority of Americans have health insurance that is tied to employment. This is a ridiculous situation that completely removes insurance from free market forces. We are in this position because of wage and price controls during World War II, which forced businesses to offer health insurance as a way to attract employees in a very tight labor market. This was encouraged by government tax credits to business for offering health care. Under this system, how does one shop for insurance, if it is tied to one's job? You cannot do it, unless you also shop for another job. Thus, there is practically no competition at all in health insurance. Yet, that is easy to correct. If health insurance was a simple commodity in a free market, the price would decrease from competition. Auto, fire, life -- every other kind of insurance is quite competitive, because every individual shops for it in a free market. Suppose our food was provided by our employers? Sounds crazy? It is not a new idea, and it is exactly analogous to the situation with health insurance in this country. Food was linked to employment in the coal industry; in fact, not only food, but housing and most essentials of life. Ever hear of the hated company store? Miners were paid in script which could only be redeemed at the company store. It offered some conveniences, but it also allowed the mine owners to control the work force, and to profit doubly when they spent their earnings on overpriced merchandise. Today, people look back on this situation in the coal industry as horribly exploitative, slave labor, almost. But how many realize that they are in the exact same situation with their health care?

The solution is simple. End the deductibility of health insurance for employers. Instead of paying for insurance, employers will increase pay by the same amount, which of course is a deductible expense, allowing workers to shop for an purchase their own policy customized to their needs. The government could then give the employees the tax credit for purchasing insurance.