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Uwe Reinhardt: A Response to John Goodman about the Republican Vision for Health Reform

"There actually is a current Republican vision. It has been expressed through the House budget resolution. I agree with Goodman, though, that in the past Republicans, John Goodman included, did offer visions on U.S. health care that differ sharply from the one expressed by the House and are worth considering."

Proposed 'World's Greatest Health Care Plan' Would Provide Sound Incentives for Fundamental Healthcare Choices

"Of 12 bold ideas in the legislation, fully half have never appeared in any previous bill or in any previous proposal -- Republican or Democrat. [T]he bill corrects the major ways in which federal policies create perverse incentives and removes the federal government as a source of some of our most important health policy problems.... [T]he legislation makes good on what many regard as the three broken promises of the [ACA]: universal coverage, cost control, and real protection for people with pre-existing conditions.... [T]he bill paves the way for a medical marketplace in which empowered patients can make more of their own choices, while enjoying protection against the cost of catastrophic illness -- both the financial cost and the cost of rationing by waiting."

Why Don't the Republicans Have a Vision for Health Reform?

"One reason the Republicans can't agree on what to do about health care is that the people who advise them don't agree.... [T]he conservative think tanks have been all over the map in their recommendations. There is simply no agreed upon vision for health care among those on the right of the political spectrum."

Six Problems with the ACA That Aren't Going Away

"There is an urgent need to make major changes in the law regardless of how the Supreme Court rules. These are changes that will require bi-partisan cooperation -- something that is rare in health policy. The changes are needed because there are at least six major problems that aren't going away. [1] An impossible mandate ... [2] Unworkable subsidies ... [3] Perverse incentives for insurers ... [4] Other perverse incentives for buyers ... [5] Lack of access to care ... [6] Impossible burden for the elderly and the disabled."