Uncle Sam, MD? Not so fast.

Last Thursday, the nation’s preeminent business organization released a study showing that the high costs of the American healthcare system puts American businesses at a significant disadvantage.

This study shows that healthcare reform is integral to the country’s economic recovery. President Barack Obama understands this, and has vowed to pass comprehensive reform legislation by the end of the year. Unfortunately, administration officials have indicated that their proposals will likely be raising taxes to finance a massive expansion of the public healthcare system.

But the American people resoundingly disapprove of this approach.

The administration should toss it aside, and instead focus on implementing bipartisan measures that reform the system from the inside...

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ALLOWING CONSUMERS TO "SHOP AROUND" FOR HEALTH CARE
America's health care system has become one of the most expensive in the world. On a per person basis, the United States spends more on health care than any other country:

• On average, consumers spend less and less out of their own pockets for health care; health insurance and government programs have grown so large they end up footing the bill for almost 90 percent of all health care costs.
• That's a "good" thing to many political leaders, but it has stunted the efficiency of the health care industry.
• When someone else pays, the incentive to "shop around" for the best price, service, quality, etc. simply isn't there.
• When patients do not pay their own bills, they do not act like typical consumers because they care little about the cost of the care they receive.

If consumers were allowed to shop around for medical care, the whole system would look completely different. Hospitals and doctors would be forced to compete against each other. They would have to provide a good price, good service and the best value to attract customers.

Since 1992 health care costs have risen dramatically -- they've grown twice as fast as inflation.

However, cosmetic surgery is the exception. Why?

Because it isn't paid for by government health plans and insurance policies - it's completely optional. Consumers pay out of their own pockets, consequently price competition has had the predictable effect of keeping all prices as low as they can be...

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image toon - hcare - only up graph = health care costs