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Whatever merits one may ascribe to the recently enacted Medicarelaw, it has aggravated, not controlled, rapidly rising Medicarecosts. Its major feature is a massive entitlement expansion, but italso embodies some bad health care policy: There is no need for thefederal government to displace existing drug coverage, pre-empt newprivate-sector options, or accelerate the loss of employer-baseddrug coverage.
Medicare reforms are needed to secure value for patients, enhance the program’s solvency, and reduce its burden on current and future taxpayers.
Members of Congress, their staffs, and approximately 9 millionother federal workers, retirees, and their families in the42-year-old Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) areable, unlike most americans, to choose a plan that best meets theirneeds from almost 200 private options nationwide, includingfee-for-service, preferred provider organization, and managed careplans, and those sponsored by unions and employee organizations.
America is going to have either a government-run health care systemin which politicians and bureaucrats make the key decisions or aconsumer-driven system in which key decisions are made byindividuals and families. Presented with a clear choice, Americanswill support a market-based program that is compatible with theirvalues, particularly personal freedom and personal responsibility.
BG1123: Congress's Own Health Plan As A Model For MedicareReform