Capretta: Health care consumers need choice, power

Jim Capretta, speaking at today’s Galen Institute briefing introducing his paper “Why the Obama Plan Is Not Entitlement Reform,” made these points:

• If there was one consensus point during the health care debate over the past year, it was that Medicare is the main driver in health care costs.
• Medicare, which he called “maddeningly costly,” creating “excess paperwork, a bureaucracy, and low-quality and uncoordinated care for patients,” will look much the same many years from now–despite “health care reform.”
• If we really want health care delivery reform, the way to get there is to empower consumers to pick high-value, lower-cost options. That can be done through vouchers. Competition in the health care industry will increase, especially those trying to win the business of older Americans.
• Medicare is riddled with waste and inefficiency. The fastest solution is to give consumers choice rather than saying government will clean up the system.