To the extent we have a health care problem at all, the first step in solving it would turn the middle class loose to demand good stuff cheap. One proposal:
The solution is to be found in bringing healthcare to the market place. End the tax-deductibility of employer-provided healthcare. Allow every citizen, except those enrolled in Medicare or in a military health plan, to receive a refundable tax credit to purchase Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). The key thing is that people should have a choice of plans. The tax credit should be available not only to those who purchase HSAs. Some people, for instance, have higher medical costs, so they may prefer a more comprehensive policy. But we could encourage more widespread use of HSAs by raising the cap on the amount of money that people could put in them. Also, owners of HSAs should be allowed to purchase health insurance in any state in the country. The money should be applicable to those employer-sponsored plans still available or to any healthcare plan an individual or family chooses, thus allowing product competition. Unused money in each account should be rolled over in succeeding years, and whatever money remains in each account should be part of an account holder’s estate upon death.