<< Back to Issues

Health Care

Wherever government is most involved, we see skyrocketing prices and decreased quality. Years ago, our free-market health care system was the envy of the world. It was accessible and affordable. Those who couldn't take care of themselves were helped by their communities, and government involvement was nowhere to be found.

At some point, the government decided that it could manage your medical needs better than you could, and thrust upon us Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), and continued to involve themselves with mismanaged programs like Medicare and Medicaid, not to mention the thousands of regulations placed on insurance companies, hospitals, and doctors that cause even more climbing prices.

While costs continue to increase, accessability becomes even more limited, and quality sinks even further, it's obvious that the only change that will provide a real solution will be to remove the regulations and programs that caused these problems in the first place. We would need to work toward the following:

• Remove regulations that increase costs and prevent patients from accessing the health care they need, such as required FDA approval on medications and limitations on who can provide services.
• Allow all Americans to have Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), without the requirement that a high-deductible coverage plan be chosen, where tax-free money can be deposited and medical expenses are paid for from this account. Any expenses paid from funds outside of this account would be tax-deductible.
• Remove licensure requirements such that pharmacists, nurses, and trained hospital staff could provide basic services to increase accessability and reduce costs.
• Remove regulations that require individuals to purchase insurance coverage they don't need, allowing them to choose their coverage "a la carte."
• Allow the purchase of health insurance across state lines.