Better Way to Reform Healthcare

Last month, the Supreme Court heard testimony on whether or not the President's new healthcare bill is constitutional. I've said repeatedly that I do not believe that Congress has the power to make a citizen buy a certain product or good, just because they are a citizen.

The Court is expected to rule on the issue sometime this summer. I hope the Justices will toss out the bill because it's an example of government overreach and because I believe it's bad for businesses both large and small.

However, that doesn't mean that Washington should do nothing about healthcare. Any plan, though, will need to make healthcare more affordable for Americans. We should also make sure that more individuals have access to healthcare and the ability to choose their own doctors. We also want to make sure that Americans continue to have high quality healthcare.

Washington ought to pass bi-partisan legislation that would allow small businesses to pool together as one big business instead of many small ones. Over half of Americans without health insurance are small business owners, their employees, or their dependents.

We should also move to curb outrageous medical malpractice lawsuits. Forcing doctors to practice defensive medicine drives up the cost of healthcare. Simply capping these lawsuits would help bring down premiums for everyone.

Creating a new government bureaucracy is not the answer. A better plan would be to increase the buying power of small businesses and limit the need for defensive medicine.

# # #