Individual Purchasing of Health Care and Affordability?

The Disease Management Care Blog is shocked, SHOCKED that the Commonwealth Fund has determined that Obama bests McCain’s healthcare proposals for a high performing healthcare system. But seriously folks, the DMCB detected little concern over the dueling $1.6 versus $1.3 trillion ten year price tags. As the DMCB understands it, both mind boggling sums represent foregone taxes (in terms of breaks) and/or direct outlays. What goes decidedly unaddressed is the multi-headed Hydra monster of healthcare cost inflation. How about an affordable healthcare system? Where’s that web site of that think tank?

And it’s not just because the contrarian DMCB admits to palling around with hairstylists from the 60's. Despite a growing appetite for Governmental Oversight, Regulation and Financing Of All Things, there may be there something to be said for inserting personal judgment in the healthcare purchasing dynamic. Letting tax-sheltered individual human beings instead of tax-sheltered corporate human resources confront the runaway pricing of insurance is an arguably credible approach to cost containment that is going largely unmentioned. While the DMCB has its doubts, the approach may deserve more credit from the Commonwealth Fund, print media, disdainful blogs and more (Oct 3) blogs.