Maybe Government Isn't the Best Answer for Insurance
20 02 08 - 11:34
February 20, 2008; Page A13
Victoria C. Bunce and J.P. Wieske are correct when they discuss the malignant potential of mandates and regulations as it relates to the health insurance marketplace ("Mandate Update," op-ed, Feb. 8). I might further suggest that we stop using the term health insurance since we really cannot insure against our health. The proper term should be accident and sickness insurance.
In most every state where attempts were made to achieve universal health care through government mandates, the end result was an increase in the uninsured and an increase in the cost of insurance premiums. More states and the federal government should encourage the purchase of basic catastrophic coverage through the private marketplace. Catastrophic coverage to insure against accident and sickness is an affordable and necessary expense that most Americans would engage (if offered). Reforming the marketplace does not require the government. It requires a free and competitive marketplace and a belief that Americans are capable of making good life decisions for themselves.
Marcy Zwelling, M.D.
Los Alamitos, Calif.