Dear Editor:
Who will decide: bureaucrats, doctors or consumers? Al Gore rages against HMO bureaucrats while back in 1993, he would have imposed government bureaucrats over all of our health plans. Now he wants the doctors to decide, but this same approach created the high inflation from 1964 to 1984. He blames the drug companies for high prices, but does not realize how litigation costs increase prices. His solution is to have the government provide “free” benefits–thus increasing demand and, eventually, taxes, insurance premiums, inflation and interest rates.
George W. Bush would make healthcare and prescription drug insurance tax deductible. This empowers consumers to design the coverage that best meets their wants and needs. Insurance companies would compete to offer the best coverage at the lowest price. Consumers would decide.
Michael Francis McCarthy, MPA