Saturday, September 12, 2009
A Health Care Reform Alternative
This op-ed in the Wall Street Journal from last month proposes a market-based solution for health care reform, which gets us closer to universal coverage without massive government regulation. If it works, isn't this solution consistent with Catholic Social Teaching? Although the op-ed doesn't address the poor, don't we have Medicaid for them? And, if Medicaid is inadequate (I don't know whether it is or not), shouldn't we be tweaking and/or expanding Medicaid to work toward ensuring that no one goes without needed health care because of their economic status? In other words, if one problem is affordability and portability and the other poverty, might they need two totally different solutions: one market oriented and the other government interventionist?
For those more in the know, what are the problems with the market solutions proposed in the op-ed? And, are your conclusions based on your prudential judgment? Or, is the market based approach inherently at odds with Catholic Social Teaching?
Lots of questions, but no answers from me.
https://mirrorofjustice.blogs.com/mirrorofjustice/2009/09/a-health-care-reform-alternative.html