The failures of government-run health care
December 21, 2006| By Nathaniel Ward
Health care is an issue of increasing concern for American voters. According to a recent Gallup poll, for example, fully 71 percent of Americans believe our health care system is in a state of crisis or suffers from major problems.
Liberals, of course, have their solution: government-run health care on the European model. But as Heritage health care expert Bob Moffit writes in California’s Press-Enterprise with Grace-Marie Turner of the Galen Institute, there are tremendous problems with this sort of one-size-fits-all, single-payer system.
Moffit and Turner cite European health care experts to make the case against a European-style health care system. First and foremost, we should remember that there’s no such thing as free health care. “Citizens always wind up paying for health care, either through taxes, insurance premiums or out-of-pocket costs,” explains Switzerland’s Alphonse Crespo. As it is, European governments are spending through the nose on health care—and in many cases they still can’t match the quality of care available in America.
What’s more, such systems limit citizens’ choices in health care, Crespo added. In single-payer arrangements, “governments and their agents control what medical services [their] citizens will or will not receive.” Were such a system in place here, bureaucrats in Washington, instead of doctors and patients, would be making all the decisions.
The lesson? “Do not listen to the perennial siren voices, which call for a single-payer system in the United States,” warns Stephen Pollard of Britain’s Centre for the New Europe.
The solution is instead to turn to free enterprise. Author David Gratzer of the Manhattan Institute spoke to The Heritage Foundation in October and laid out a series of reforms to make this possible:
- “Make health insurance more like every other type of insurance”—auto insurance doesn’t pay for oil changes, for example—and allow individuals to buy health insurance with pre-tax dollars.
- “Foster competition” by getting rid of absurd government regulations that drive up costs.
- Reform Medicaid, “probably the worst government-run program in America,” by following the lead of welfare reform and turning the program over to the states.
- Reconsider the fundamental concepts behind Medicare, especially its wage and price controls.
- Re-think the role of the Food and Drug Administration and how its work drives up prescription drug costs.
Click here to watch a video of Dr. Gratzer’s talk (Windows Media format)
Nathaniel Ward is the Editor of MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation.
