Cochrane: Free Market Reforms

In the 4/2/4012 Wall Street Journal, University of Chicago professor John Cochrane offers several constructive free-market reforms that would move the American health care system in the right direction.

He gives details in, "What to Do on the Day After ObamaCare".

Some ideas he discusses include:

* Eliminate preferential tax treatment of employer-provided health insurance
* Eliminate expensive mandated benefits
* "Premium support" for Medicare and Medicaid
* Eliminate legal barriers to training new physicians
* Eliminate anti-competitive "certificate of need" requirements for equipment

All of these would move us in the proper direction of more freedom and less government intrusion in health care. If ObamaCare is overturned by the Supreme Court, it's important that free-market supporters be ready to propose positive ideas as an alternative.

For more details, see the full text of "What to Do on the Day After ObamaCare".

(Note: "Premium support" for Medicare and Medicaid can should be a step towards full privatization of these programs, not another permanent government entitlement program.)