Is there political will to truly reform the health care industry?
A. It’s going to be a tough road. I think (former South Dakota Sen.) Tom Daschle had the right concept with his federal health board — take the decision-making out of the hands of Congress. Lobbying is too much of a factor. The Obama administration has not provided much detail on how they plan to rein in costs. Mechanisms that have been discussed as cost-cutting approaches, such as adoption of electronic medical records, will result in only minimal savings. Q. What are the potential ramifications if the government establishes a public plan similar to Medicare that individuals could buy into? A. First, it’s not clear who would be allowed in. People who work for large employers — those with more than 50 workers — probably wouldn’t be allowed in. Regardless, there would be more competition. Competition would force private insurers to become more efficient with their costs and service. The private health insurers are averse to the public plan option because they feel like people will sw
