Every bushel of Kansas wheat, every Boeing aircraft, and every other product we attempt to export and sell in the global market is burdened by the high cost of health care. Our existing health care “system” is the most expensive in the world; currently, Kansas spends about 16% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on health care. Universal health care without cost reduction only makes this problem worse. Our goal for health care reform should be universal coverage,  but at a cost of no more than 10% of GDP.  This reduces health care costs for employers by 1/3, increasing profits and allowing them to expand. It reduces costs for working families, helping them to save the money that can put their children through college. Pouring money into the existing “system” is not the solution, better management is.

1) Universal health coverage without cost reduction begets bankruptcy. Our existing health care “system” is the most expensive in the world and burdens our economy in the global market.

2) Reduce costs by focusing on informed, empowered consumers and personal responsibility. Americans compare prices and performance when shopping for furniture, cars, electronics, and food. We need access to medical prices, as well, so we can shop and compare to get the best deals.  When consumers can go online to compare medical prices and performance, we’ll be able to choose the best insurance plans, best providers, best hospitals, and best pharmaceuticals. This approach empowers us to hold insurance companies accountable and makes it more profitable for providers to keep costs down. We can also give consumers more choices. “Health Savings Accounts, “50/50,”  and “limited” plans provide options for people who want greater control, often with tax advantages that effectively pay some of the plan’s cost. At the same time, Americans must be personally responsible for eating a healthy and balanced diet, exercising, and avoiding tobacco dependency. A plan that contains a series of incentives and disincentives to do this will encourage Americans to live healthier lives. For example, tobacco avoidance and regular exercise can be rewarded with lower health premiums. Smoking, overeating, and other bad habits must be discouraged with higher premiums and co-pays. Bi-annual checkups for all participants should be mandatory and free. If we give away benefits without demanding self-responsibility and lifestyle changes, the result will be bad habits, dependency, and run away costs.

3) Reduce costs by eliminating duplicative bureaucratic overhead. We should apply lessons learned from New Gingrich and Bill Clinton’s successful ideas on welfare reform in the 1990’s.  They consolidated numerous Federal programs into block grants which were given to states to manage.  Each state designs programs and invests the money in ways that best suit their population.  Similarly, consolidating federal and state health programs like Medicaid, Medicare, and SCHIP will eliminate multiple bureaucracies, lower costs, streamline procedures, and save billions in duplicative overhead.  Mergers and consolidations work in the private sector.  They can work in the government sector too.

4) Reduce costs by using electronic records and patient data cards. New technology allows doctors, pharmacists, nurses, and hospitals to coordinate patient care and avoid mistakes.  Electronic technology eliminates time consuming paperwork and streamlines the reimbursement process.

5) Reduce costs by eliminating unnecessary medical studies. There’s and old saying “If a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears it, does it make a sound?”  Similarly: “If medical research clearly proves certain habits are harmful to one’s health, and many people ignore it, do the studies really matter?”  Smoking and obesity are clearly proven to cause poor health outcomes that are expensive to treat; yet Americans continue to use tobacco, and more and more people continue to get fat.  Unneeded studies don’t work — personal responsibility does.

6) Reduce costs by using the private sector as much as possible and use government only when necessary.  We have many great health care assets, knowledge, and talent in the private sector including hospitals, doctors, dentists, nurses, and even some insurance companies and HMO’s.  Unfortunately, these assets are organized in an irrational and wasteful manner.