Newt Gingrich
Founder, Center for Health Transformation
HFMA recently asked Newt Gingrich about the role of government in reducing the number of uninsured. His response follows. The full interview will appear in the September issue of hfm magazine.
Health savings accounts are another example of the administration moving toward the individual-centered system we need. HSAs encourage wise decision making and personal responsibility, and they enable consumers to take greater charge of their own health and wellness. By incentivizing healthy behavior, these types of consumer-oriented arrangements can go a long way toward achieving better-quality health care at lower cost, as market forces are injected back into the industry. One of the major obstacles to the uninsured getting coverage is lack of access to plans that fit tight budgets, small business, and the self-employed. HSAs and other tools to bring more coverage choices to the American people, such as cross-state insurance, can help alleviate the burden of finding the right coverage.
However, consumerism without access to information about price and quality is useless. This is why the government must insist that businesses working with the government be required to post their prices and their performance results, set against a benchmark of standardized quality measures. By giving Americans the tools they need to best manage their health, we can enable individuals to make smart decisions about the consequences and benefits of their decisions. This change will mark a fundamental shift in our way of thinking about health, putting a much greater emphasis on individual responsibility that will alleviate the burdens currently straining our healthcare system.
