National healthcare spending hit a record high of $2.2 trillion in 2007, according to a report just released by the government. The total accounts for over 16 percent of the nation's GDP, and averages out to a $7,421 bill for each one of us.
These numbers are staggering. President-elect Barack Obama and his Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee, Tom Daschle, need to take immediate steps to make sure the money we spend delivers the healthcare we need.
Unfortunately, many of the incoming administration's reform proposals, although well-intentioned, boil down to a single, destructive policy: Price controls.
Perhaps the most damaging healthcare reform we are likely to see in the coming years is Secretary Daschle's plan for a Federal Health Board. Based loosely on
Daschle has said that the agency will "reduce or deny payment for new drugs and procedures that aren't as effective as current ones." In the past, however, agencies like NICE have unfairly denied treatment to patients by applying a broad definition of "effective."
Have a look at this new op-ed from the pages of the Washington Examiner … and think hard about what we really want American healthcare to look like.
