Ed Rutledge for Lieutenant Governor

Considering a problem solved because the Democrats have passed a law is as naive as believing that government is going to get smaller because a Republican has gotten elected.

Let me state right away that health care needed reforming. Health care costs have been spiraling out of control, health insurance has become increasingly unaffordable, and insurance companies have been holding patients and doctors hostage. Unfortunately, our Representatives in Washington missed a golden opportunity to really address the core issues and to solve a real problem.

Our politicians instead focused on the power that will come from getting millions more Americans hooked on taxpayer funded entitlement programs. Make no mistake – their recent bill is not about helping people. It is about amassing political power.

This was a bill that sounded very good but which, in reality, will not address the real problems inherent in our health care industry, it will not serve those it is intended to help, and it will cost more than we can afford.

If we are serious about making sure that everyone has access to affordable health insurance, it is important that we understand where we really are. The truth is, our health care system is the envy of the world. Patients have access to what would have been considered “miracle” drugs and treatments just a decade ago.

But, as mentioned above, reform was and is still needed. The costs associated with healthcare are rising faster than in nearly any other sector in our economy. What big government politicians do not want you to know, however, is that healthcare is broken because of their meddling.

We need to restore the doctor-patient relationship, which has been assumed by government bureaucrats, insurance companies and malpractice attorneys. Doctors and patients should be allowed to freely assess treatments and negotiate the price. Tort liability laws must be reformed, to protect doctors against frivolous lawsuits and to limit the need for costly “defensive medicine.” And we need to establish Pre-Tax Health Savings Accounts, tax credits for medical expenses, and vouchers for low income families, to let citizens manage their personal healthcare needs.

We also need to reform the way we insure against catastrophic health care bills. The ownership, and the tax benefits, of health insurance policies should be transferred from employers to employees. And all health care related expenses should be directly offset by a tax credit.

By tying health insurance to the individual, rather than to the employer, insurance policies will become portable – no one should worry about losing insurance coverage due to a job change. And children should be insurable from birth, eliminating “preexisting condition” problems.

By owning their own insurance policies, individuals will be able to determine their own coverages and deductibles based on personal need, much as we currently buy auto insurance. Individuals should be allowed to form and voluntarily enter into group policies, if doing so gains them lower prices through a greater spreading of risk. And we must eliminate the laws that prevent us from shopping for insurance across state lines – limited competition always drives up costs, and health insurance in Illinois is no exception to this rule.

Healthcare is as personal as it gets. We must not allow government bureaucrats to get their hands on it. Instead of increasing government intervention, which has caused all of the problems we now see, we should be getting government out of the way, and allowing innovation to provide us with better healthcare at lower costs.

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