We have the greatest health care system in the world. We have serious issues about affordability and access that need to be addressed right now. Sound fiscal thinking must be employed when enacting any new health care policies. Taxing and spending our way to a socialized, government run health care system would be a disaster. The Congress cannot administer its own budget effectively, the Medicare government run system is near bankruptcy, how could we expect anything better with our entire health care delivery system if Congress was to take it over too.

The first task to lower costs and improve affordability of services is to reform the legal system. Right now, malpractice insurance is a huge expense that doctors must pay to stay in business. That cost is necessarily passed on to you and me in the form of higher medical bills. By capping malpractice lawsuits to a more predictable and sustainable level, insurers would be able to lower their rates to doctors, who in turn can pass the savings on to us.

We also must look in the mirror and make sure that we are making the best lifestyle choices to ensure a healthier way of life for ourselves and our families. We all know that when healthy eating and exercise are part of our lifestyle choices we enjoy the benefits of better health. Which in turn lowers our need for health care services.

Third we need to become better consumers of our health care services when we do need them, by asking questions, shopping for the best rates, and demanding to know the cost of services before they are delivered. Of course the emergency room is not the place to be asking for price comparisons, we should receive and expect the best care available to return us to health. But the majority of our medical expenses are planned and can be dealt with as we purchase any other service or item we pay for in our day to day lives. This requires a system whereby we can have accessible information to make informed decisions. Hospitals and Doctors should be required to publish rates and fees, describe procedures they perform and what the cost would be. This way the competitive marketplace will ensure we are getting the best service at the lowest cost.

To facilitate this reform of the system we must have a new way of providing for insurance of our health care, whereby the consumer has more control and responsibility for the cost of the services they are needing or requesting. If there is one thing I know it is that if someone else is paying the bills or if the service is perceived to be free, then the consumer doesn’t care how much it costs. This would necessarily skyrocket the nations health care spending. However if the consumer is paying the bill they are much more careful in how they spend each dollar. We thus need to shift from the current employer based system of insurance, to one where each of us are responsible for our own medical insurance and health care spending.

Most importantly we must continue to demand that the doctor and patient are the ones making the best informed decision and have the freedom to choose what is best for our own health. Having the federal government insert itself into the process is wrong.