News/Op-Eds
HEALTH INSURANCE
Wall Street Journal.
In The Future of Healthcare Reform in the United States Edited by Anup Malani and Michael H. Schill, p 161-201, University of Chicago Press. An essay on health care, first presented at the conference, The Future of Health Care Reform in the United States, at the University of Chicago Law School. Most of the policy discussion is focused on health insurance. But the health care market is dysfuctional, and needs to be fixed as well. Where are the Southwest Airlines, Walmart and Apple of health care, bringing cost saving, efficiency, and innovation? I argue that we need a big freeing up of health care markets. I also focus more than usual on supply restrictions. It doesn't do much good for people to pay with their own money if suppliers cannot respond to that demand. Last manuscript in case of copyright problems with the published version above.
Wall Street Journal . A free-market manifesto with emphaasis on freeing the supply of health care, like "After the ACA." local pdf
Bloobmerg Business Class. The health law debate needs to stop worrying about legalities. The mandate was never the central economic problem. A reminder of all the other problems, and alternatives to the health care law. (local html)
Wall Street Journal Local pdf. Deregulation and competition. Yes, it can work, even in health insurance. Mostly aimed at the widespread and incorrect view that markets can't provide health insurance.
Wall Street Journal. Local pdf. Critics complain that religious institutions have to buy health insurance that covers birth control. They're missing the point. Why does health and human services mandate that any and all of us have to buy health insurance that covers regular predictable expenses?
Oped for The Wall Street Journal. Health Status insurance op-ed for Investors Business Daily (local link). April 2 2009. These pieces describe my ideas on how free market health insurance can solve the portability problem and thus let us have a competitive system: People who lose their jobs lose health insurance, often with catastrophic results. Two ways to put the basic idea: 1. You can buy “premium increase insurance” so that if you get sick you can afford higher premiums. 2. You can buy the right to buy health insurance in the future, even if you get sick in the meantime.
Note: These opeds summarize “Health-Status Insurance ” written for Cato and “Time consistent health insurance” in the JPE, both in the health insurance and economics section of my research webpage. Articles by Barrons and American Spectator explain the ideas perhaps better than I do.