Try Freedom for a Change

Posted by Mark Todd Engler in Certificates of Need (CON), Health Care, New Hampshire on Jun 29th, 2009 | no responses

Kudos to the editors of the New Hampshire Union-Leader, who're able to see through the "false premise" and "nonsense" the Obama administration is relentlessly pushing to drive their oppressive health care agenda.

The free market in American health care is not kaput - nor is it the "status quo" – as the statist power-centralizers would have it. Market innovation and ingenuity has for decades been suppressed by government. Real reform, says the Union-Leader, starts by rolling back the powers of politicians and bureaucrats, not expanding them.

There are numerous health care reform options that don't involve massive government takeovers of health care. For example, reducing state coverage mandates could reduce premiums by thousands of dollars and allow people the option of buying basic, low-cost coverage. The Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division have both found that state certificate of need laws, which require state approval of new medical devices and services, don't keep costs down and can actually increase them.

There are many other reforms that could cut costs without expanding federal control. Obama would prefer that the public not hear about them. The media would do the American people a great service by making sure that they know about all the options, not just the ones the administration is pushing.