Health Affairs

Health Affairs, doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.27.6.w462 (Published online September 16, 2008) © 2008 by Project HOPE	New Online   Getting Health Reform Done   After the State of the Union   Incremental Reform   E-Health in Developing World   Most-Read Articles in 2009

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The Obama Plan: More Regulation, Unsustainable Spending

Joseph Antos ¹, Gail Wilensky ^2*, Hanns Kuttner ³

¹ Joe Antos is the Wilson H. Taylor Scholar in Health Care and Retirement Policy at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C.
² Gail Wilensky is a senior fellow at Project HOPE in Bethesda, Maryland.
³ Hanns Kuttner was, until recently, a senior research associate at the Economic Research Initiative on the Uninsured at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Wilensky is a volunteer adviser to the McCain campaign.

^*Corresponding author.

Abstract

The health reform plan put forth by Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) focuses on expanding insurance coverage and provides new subsidies to individuals, small businesses, and businesses experiencing catastrophic expenses. It greatly increases the federal regulation of private insurance but does not address the core economic incentives that drive health care spending. This omission along with the very substantial short-term savings claimed raise serious questions about its fiscal sustainability. Heavy regulation coupled with a fallback National Health Plan and a play-or-pay financing choice also raise questions about the future of the employer insurance market. [Health Affairs 27, no. 6 (2008): w462-w471 (published online 16 September 2008; 10.1377/hlthaff.27.6.w462)]

Key Words: Access To Care, Consumer Issues, Health Reform, Insurance Coverage, Health Spending, Politics

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