Why the Private Sector?
The private sector should run the program because it is better than the government at discovering and implementing innovations to reduce the cost and improve the quality of health insurance benefits. Let me describe one example of private sector innovation. As you know, pharmaceutical manufacturers have long promoted their products through the use of “detailing” representatives who visit physicians. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, a not-for-profit health benefit plan, was concerned that detailing was not in the interest of patients, employers and insurers because it advocates the use of drugs with high profit margins at the expense of alternatives that might be less expensive and more beneficial. So within each drug therapeutic class, Blue Cross declared that certain drugs would be preferred, whereas others would be given a yellow cautionary flag and some would be deemed as red agents – the least cost effective. Blue Cross conducted classes for physicians and sent pharmacists
