Thought and Freedom

Throughout the current health care debate, there has been a sense of emergency to defeat the current ObamaCare package. Unfortunately, we conservatives have needed to move to the defensive to stop the socialization of this segment of our economy.

After the debate is over, we will need to move to the offensive and begin to show the nation just how great free market solutions can be.

In my home state of Minnesota, gubernatorial candidate Marty Seifert has proposed some great free market health care solutions. See his video below:

Some great alternatives to the ObamaCare package include:

• Nation wide competition – Allow people to get and keep health insurance that is offered in states other than their own. Rather than having six options for health insurance in Minnesota, you could have hundreds.
• Health Savings Accounts with Catastrophic Care Insurance – This is a plan where you contribute over the course of your life to a Health Savings Account (HSA). For major medical care (over a certain dollar amount per year) you would receive insurance coverage. Marty Seifert does a great job explaining how this works in the video above.
• Encourage free clinics for the poor – Greg O’Connor, of the Americhris foundation, proposed that we find ways to encourage the growth of non-profit, free clinics around the country. There is currently a network of about 1200 of these nationwide. They cater to those that cannot afford health insurance coverage. If someone needs advanced care, such as a surgery, these places work with local hospitals to get the person into surgery for free.
• Remove mandates from current health insurance laws – Removing mandated coverage for certain avoidable conditions would greatly reduce the cost of health care. Currently, a healthy adult, non-smoking, non-drinking, male can expect to have drug and alcohol abuse coverage, quit-smoking coverage, and pregancy coverage. If a person could eliminate some of these options, they could save a bundle. Following the same path, many people would see the advantage of “cleaning up their lives” and going for the cheaper coverage eventually.
• Tort Reform – When people hear this, their eyes glaze over, but it is true that tort reform would reduce health care costs. If we implemented a loser pays system, combined with maximum lawsuit limits for doctors doing pro-bono work, we could encourage more charity work while providing cheaper overall health coverage.

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