The keyboard is mightier than the sword

If you wish to make an impact on the health care debate you should email your US Congressional Representative and both of your US Senators. In addition you could contact the White House . Also send the White House an email to their new “fishy” email address: flag@whitehouse.gov.

If you are lost for words to describe your position on health care you can copy and paste the following link to the Wall Street Journal by Arthur B. Laffer:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204619004574324361508092006.html

I also suggest a reference to the following website:

http://healthcare.cato.org/

The following is the text of my message to my US Congressmen and my US Senators:

If you are interested in studying the facts of the health care debate I suggest that you read the following Wall Street Journal by Arthur B. Laffer:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204619004574324361508092006.html

I agree with Mr. Laffer's conclusions.

You will also find that the following website is a comprehensive source for facts on the health care debate:

http://healthcare.cato.org/

I agree with the following Cato Institute health care reform recommendations:

A government takeover of the health care system, as proposed by the president and some in Congress, would be a step in the wrong direction. Instead, we should pursue a uniquely American solution, one that builds on free markets, competition and choice.

1. Let individuals control their health care dollars, and free them to choose from a wide variety of health plans and providers.
2. Move away from a health care system dominated by employer-provided health insurance. Health insurance should be personal and portable, controlled by individuals themselves rather than government or an employer. Employment-based insurance hides much of the true cost of health care to consumers, thereby encouraging over-consumption. It also limits consumer choice, since employers get final say over what type of insurance a worker will receive. It means people who don’t receive insurance through work are put at a significant and costly disadvantage. And, of course, it means that if you lose your job, you are likely to end up uninsured as well.
3. Changing from employer to individual insurance requires changing the tax treatment of health insurance. The current system excludes the value of employer-provided insurance from a worker’s taxable income. However, a worker purchasing health insurance on their own must do so with after-tax dollars. This provides a significant tilt towards employer-provided insurance, which should be reversed. Workers should receive a standard deduction, a tax credit, or, better still, large Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for the purchase of health insurance, regardless of whether they receive it through their job or purchase it on their own.
4. We need to increase competition among both insurers and health providers. People should be allowed to purchase health insurance across state lines. One study estimated that that adjustment alone could cover 17 million uninsured Americans without costing taxpayers a dime.
5. We also need to rethink medical licensing laws to encourage greater competition among providers. Nurse practitioners, physician assistants, midwives, and other non-physician practitioners should have far greater ability to treat patients. Doctors and other health professionals should be able to take their licenses from state to state. We should also be encouraging innovations in delivery such as medical clinics in retail outlets.
6. Congress should give Medicare enrollees a voucher, let them choose any health plan on the market, and let them keep the savings if they choose an economical plan. Medicare could even give larger vouchers to the poor and sick to ensure they could afford coverage.
7. The expansion of “health status insurance” would protect many of those with preexisting conditions. States may also wish to experiment with high risk pools to ensure coverage for those with high cost medical conditions.

The following is the text of my message to the "fishy" email address:

attn: Mr. Macon Phillips, re: fishy motives

Dear Mr. Phillips,

Your recent blog post requesting citizens to report “fishy” internet activity as related to the health care debate was an ill-advised directive. Coercing citizens to spy on each other was the hallmark of the Stasi (the East German secret police). This appears to be an act of desperation by the Presidential Administration.

The title of your blog post is “Facts Are Stubborn Things”. If you are interested in studying the facts of the health care debate I suggest that you read the following article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204619004574324361508092006.html

You will also find that the following website is a comprehensive source for facts on the health care debate:

http://healthcare.cato.org/

I agree with the following Cato Institute health care reform recommendations:

A government takeover of the health care system, as proposed by the president and some in Congress, would be a step in the wrong direction. Instead, we should pursue a uniquely American solution, one that builds on free markets, competition and choice.

1. Let individuals control their health care dollars, and free them to choose from a wide variety of health plans and providers.
2. Move away from a health care system dominated by employer-provided health insurance. Health insurance should be personal and portable, controlled by individuals themselves rather than government or an employer. Employment-based insurance hides much of the true cost of health care to consumers, thereby encouraging over-consumption. It also limits consumer choice, since employers get final say over what type of insurance a worker will receive. It means people who don’t receive insurance through work are put at a significant and costly disadvantage. And, of course, it means that if you lose your job, you are likely to end up uninsured as well.
3. Changing from employer to individual insurance requires changing the tax treatment of health insurance. The current system excludes the value of employer-provided insurance from a worker’s taxable income. However, a worker purchasing health insurance on their own must do so with after-tax dollars. This provides a significant tilt towards employer-provided insurance, which should be reversed. Workers should receive a standard deduction, a tax credit, or, better still, large Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for the purchase of health insurance, regardless of whether they receive it through their job or purchase it on their own.
4. We need to increase competition among both insurers and health providers. People should be allowed to purchase health insurance across state lines. One study estimated that that adjustment alone could cover 17 million uninsured Americans without costing taxpayers a dime.
5. We also need to rethink medical licensing laws to encourage greater competition among providers. Nurse practitioners, physician assistants, midwives, and other non-physician practitioners should have far greater ability to treat patients. Doctors and other health professionals should be able to take their licenses from state to state. We should also be encouraging innovations in delivery such as medical clinics in retail outlets.
6. Congress should give Medicare enrollees a voucher, let them choose any health plan on the market, and let them keep the savings if they choose an economical plan. Medicare could even give larger vouchers to the poor and sick to ensure they could afford coverage.
7. The expansion of “health status insurance” would protect many of those with preexisting conditions. States may also wish to experiment with high risk pools to ensure coverage for those with high cost medical conditions.