Month: January 1996

Most people think the next four years on Capitol Hill will be relatively uneventful, as Republicans reach an accommodation with a lame duck president. I predict that in the area of health care things will not be peaceful, however.

After more than 30 years of the War on Poverty, the federal government has proven one thing: it does a bad job of dispensing welfare. Hardly anybody is happy with the result. Now is an appropriate time for a better alternative: taxpayer choice.

The War on Poverty was launched to create a social safety net. Yet today the private sector provides the real social safety net, helping people whom government programs simply do not reach.

A group of scientists made a pronouncement about mammograms the other day, and it's causing great consternation. After much study and deliberation a panel convened by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) said it could not recommend regular mammograms for women in their 40s. Instead, the panel said, women under 50 should decide for themselves if and when to have a mammogram.

Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs) are designed to give individuals and their doctors more control over health care spending. Instead of a low-deductible health insurance policy, legislation before Congress would let employees and their employers choose high deductible insurance and put the premium savings in a tax free personal account to pay small medical bills. Employees could keep any money in the MSA at the end of the year, or roll it over to pay future medical expenses.

The fortunate few who get an MSA will be able to make tax-deductible contributions to an account to pay routine medical expenses. The accounts are coupled with high-deductible insurance that pays catastrophic expenses. Premiums are lower for high-deductible policies, so the premium savings can provide some or all of the money for the account.

Two years ago, the Democratic Party was imploding. Democrats were losing elections almost everywhere. They even lost mayoral elections in Los Angeles, and New York City and Jersey City – places where there virtually are no Republicans. They had no platform and no agenda.

From the inception of Social Security, politicians encouraged us to think of it as similar to private pensions. Yet as Baby Boomers near retirement, the cruel reality is becoming more and more evident.

One of the most exciting and popular health care reforms these days is Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs). Legislation before Congress would allow employees and their employers to choose high deductible insurance and put the premium savings aside tax free to pay small medical bills. Employees would get to keep any money left in their personal MSA at the end of every year or roll it over to pay future medical expenses.