The real underlying question is: who is in control? That is, who should actually make the decisions for what your health care dollars purchase?
The federal government could control with either single-payer or co-op plans, and right now wants to.
The state governments could control with their own single-payer and co-op plans, and many already do. (Except for Colorado, I think they’re all bankrupting their respective states, too.)
Your employer could control with his or her choice of which health plan he wants to partially pay for and provide to his employees — and most do.
But why shouldn’t you decide yourself? The best rationing plan is the one you control — where YOU decide what you want your money to cover, on an individual basis. That system is best addressed by a high-deductible catastrophic health plan, supplemented by a medical savings account — the exact sort of plan the CEO of Whole Foods uses for his employees, and the exact sort of plan that the Obama health care bill will rule out by over-requiring what each health insurance company MUST cover.
Combine MSA/catastrophic plans with a bill that protects ordinary Americans via tort reform, increased competition among insurers (via state deregulation), and easy portability in your health care coverage (so you keep your insurance if you lose your job), and you address most of the issues. Fill the gaps by partially or fully funding such plans for low-income people — at a much lower cost than currently required by Medicaid and the SCHIPs. Find a fair way to deal with people who drop coverage then get sick and need coverage. Turn MSAs into an asset, like a college fund, that you can draw on if they are over 100% funded. You wind up with a 20-page bill that puts your health care responsibilities into your hands — allowing you to self-ration your health care by making sensible financial choices that work for you.
What the heck is so hard about that concept overall that liberals don’t get it?
