Ken Nelson

We don’t need laws like this.             This is better.

Our government insists on “comprehensive” bills that cost a lot, do not work, permit pork, and are largely special interest buys offs.  This happens in Republican and Democratic governments, but is worse in Democratic ones because they do not have a philosophy as much as a group of constituencies allied to hose those not in the alliance.

Take, for instance, health care spending. Yes, all can agree the rise in healthcare costs will be a problem. I don’t think most agree that access to healthcare is a problem. Most people have access to great healthcare.  And it makes no sense to argue that $260 billion or so we spend a year on medical drugs isn’t money well spent. It is far less than we spend on professional sports ($400 billion) and public education ($560 billion) but with much better results. I’d rather demonize the hapless Dallas Cowboys and ineffectual public schools than the drug companies that keep me alive every day.

A reasoned look at health care expenses would look for inefficiencies and it would look at at where most spending goes.  It would look for levers.

The simplest way to reduce inefficiency is to have people pay directly for health care. There are any number of ways to do that, I favor tax free savings accounts for medical expenses combined with high deductible insurance.

Another way to reduce inefficiency is to permit health insurance to be sold nationally.

I go to a Physicians Assistant for most of my medical needs. They cost less and deliver excellent, timely, care.  Maybe we should have a lot more of this type of provider?

Did you know that diabetes accounts for 30% of federal spending on healthcare?  Might it be smart to focus on a cure for diabetes? Yes it would be.

So instead of one crazy take over of 1/5th the US economy “to fix” healthcare, why not a series of focused bills that we can read and understand. 

I’d like Republicans, and sane Democrats (if they remain) to come together to pass laws like these:

• Cut Defensive Medicine Costs Act – A one page law eliminating most malpractice lawsuits.  Here I defy my Libertarian roots… I’m not sure of the mechanism implementing this law, but I’m pretty sure 100% taxation would do it.
• Insurance Competition Act… A one page law permitting national insurance and denying any federal funds to any state that regulates national plans.
• Healthcare Personal Responsibility Act…short law that rewards those who have high deductible plans.
• More HealthCare Providers Act…. Deny all federal funds to states that do not simplify PA / NP requirements for work and schooling. Do not directly fund PA or NP education, the schools will just raise prices.
• Manhattan Project for Diabetes… focus federal R&D on short term plan to dramatically stem diabetes.

You get the idea…. simple, market based, one lever laws. No pork permitted. No earmarks. No “horse-trading” with Nebraska or Louisiana.  Identify a high impact, simple, “lever” solution, and do just that.

Republicans/Independents/Libertarians can take back the country if the combine resistance to Democratic craziness with proposals that the citizenry can understand and believes will help EVERYBODY.