Thursday, January 10, 2013

Freedom Vs. Central Planning

Some compare-and-contrast.

NCPA: "How Consumer-Directed Plans Affect the Cost and Use of Health Care"

Some take home points:
[E]mpirical analysis suggests that people with consumer-driven health plans are able to achieve cuts in health spending while retaining quality care.
* In 2011, about 17 percent of Americans that were covered by their employers were enrolled in a consumer-directed health plan.
* Families that switched to a consumer-directed health plan spent an average of 21 percent less on health care. 
* Two-thirds of savings came from the fact that there were fewer episodes of care; the other one-third came from less spending per episode. 
* If enrollment in consumer-directed plans increased to 50 percent, there would be an annual savings of $57 billion.
In contrast, Peter Suderman discusses "Why Obamacare's Health Care Cost Controls Won't Work".