LIVING LIBERTY

November 2003

Health Care: All about attitude?
by Ruth Graf

Your health care choices shouldn't be dictated by govern-ment bureaucrats, HMOs, or any other third party—they should be made by you and your doctor. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work that way these days. That's why EFF is working to help find a cure for our current health care epidemic.

The first step is to understand how we got into our current situation. It didn't start in the 1990s when state regulations increased dramatically, though that made the problem worse. No, the problem began decades ago when Americans began to undergo a slow shift in their attitudes and opinions about health care coverage. Imagine a whole nation that gradually changes its diet from whole grains, fruits and vegetables to daily stops at the fast food joint. Soon, without noticing it, you're at risk for a myriad of health problems you never gave much thought to before. Such is the case with the policies governing our current health care system.

During World War II, when the labor shortage hit and cash flow was tight, many employers began offering health benefits in lieu of a portion of wages. After the war, health benefits were used as an incentive to entice the best employees. Then came the Johnson administration and before long Medicare and Medicaid were household words.

By the time the have-it-all gluttony of the 1980s and 90s rolled around, health benefits were considered not only a staple of any good compensation package, but an entitlement. Employees began to think of their health coverage as a "free" benefit to which they were entitled by virtue of their employment. And government began to hand out state aid as if it truly was free to individuals who felt it was their right to receive it.

This shift in the American mind, with all of its resulting policies, is one of the causes of our current crisis.

What was once a nation of individuals who used health care responsibly and conservatively during times of crisis has now become a nation of individuals who demand instant attention for stomachaches and sore throats. While consumers still pay the costs, they pay indirectly and have been lulled into the belief that obtaining health care requires at most a small co-pay. The gradual relinquishment of personal responsibility and control over health care decision-making has created a system that is now turning on us.

So what do we do about it?

The solution is Consumer-Driven Health Care. Most employers in both the public and private sectors do not want the burden or the expense of managing employee health benefits. One of the largest and most important steps to consumer-driven health care is coming to the realization that our health care is our own responsibility. From there, we can begin moving toward a system that provides better quality and cost stability to patients, employers and taxpayers.

Over the next two years, we plan to put pressure on the legislature (without lobbying) to push for reform of the current restrictions on health care coverage. To create this pressure, we are building coalitions within the state in nine strategic cities, where we will hold public town meetings. Our intent is to educate business-owners and employees about Consumer Driven Health Care: how to apply it, how it can stabilize health care spending, etc. With the help of these coalitions, we can establish a proven track record of solution-based data to create a basic understanding of necessary reforms among state legislators.

We will be holding town meetings in Spokane next month and North Seattle in December. We will be in seven other cities in the first half of 2004. Keep your eyes on our newsletter as well because we'll be covering many other practical health care issues.

Ruth Graf is EFF's health care analyst.

Contact: Ruth Graf | Health Care Analyst | 360.956.3482

Living Liberty is the Evergreen Freedom Foundation's monthly newsletter. It provides updates on the issues and projects EFF is currently working on. You will also find commentary on state and sometimes federal government issues.

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Evergreen Freedom Foundation P.O. Box 552, Olympia, WA 98507 Phone: (360) 956-3482, Fax: (360) 352-1874 Email: effwa@effwa.org