Making health care more affordable: President's proposals offer a sound approach.

• Author: Glasscock, Larry C.
• Position: VIEWPOINT

IT IS CLEAR THAT President Bush recognizes the challenges that rising costs pose to health-care access and affordability. It is also clear that he believes that a single big-government solution is not workable. Instead, what is needed is a range of initiatives that address many aspects of our very complex health-care system.

There is no silver bullet. The proposals in the State of the Union address are aimed at making the current system more efficient and effective, rather than attempting to replace it with something else. In our view, this is the right approach. Our collective challenge is to make sure that the highest-quality care is more consistently available to all.

Another theme of the proposals is choice. Americans are used to having many options, and consumers today are demanding more choice and control of their own health care. Some of the proposals, such as expansion of health savings accounts (HSAs), can be achieved through consumer-driven solutions that give people control of their own healthcare dollars. Other proposals, such as expanded tax credits and portability of HSAs, are also meant to empower Americans.

Our most important goal is to make health care more affordable, which can partially be achieved through the widespread use of electronic medical records. This will improve the health-care delivery system's efficiency by reducing medical errors and duplicative testing; while increasing quality and patient safety The goal of affordable health care is also reflected in the call for medical malpractice insurance reform.

Consumer-driven health plans. Consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs) are key to the affordability agenda. Unfortunately, because they are effective in helping employers manage the cost of the health coverage, CDHPs are often contused with other strategies that merely shift that cost to employees through higher co-pays and premiums. In fact, a well-designed CDHP with a personal health account can help employees reduce costs and save for future healthcare expenses, and motivate them to take better care of themselves.

An argument...