There’s a lot of talk these days about patient-centered health care reform. Before Obamacare, health care revolved around employers, and little has changed since passage of the new law. This is primarily due to federal policy regarding the tax treatment of employer-sponsored insurance, which was left untouched by the federal overhaul. In recent research, Heritage’s Gregg Girvan explains how this system has led to one-size-fits-all employer-based plans that offer “little or no personal choice; little or no portability of coverage in a rapidly changing economy where workers are changing jobs …
In the past year, the Congressional health care battle has usurped much of the public discourse on health care reform. In the mean time, Utah has quietly begun implementing its own version of reform, moving its health care system in a more patient-centered, consumer-driven direction. In a recent paper, Heritage analyst Ed Haislmaier outlines the obstacles Utah has overcome to achieving its objectives of giving “employers, particularly smaller firms, an easier way to offer health benefits to their workers and to provide workers and their families with more coverage choices.” …
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFMLzi2CBII[/youtube] It’s simple: “Our approach in Utah is to give consumers more choice,” said Governor Herbert during a Heritage Foundation visit earlier this week. “If we can put them in the control position where they’re spending dollars that are their own, they’re going to make better choices.” Similarly, the Governor believes that States, not the federal government will be better at fixing what ails America’s health care system. “It really ought to be the states leading on health care reform,” he said. In fact, “states want to be partners” with …
