This Fort-Worth Star Telegram article (pdf) written by Mary Katherine Stout of the Texas Public Policy Foundation hits the nail squarely on the head:
"The federal and state governments have driven up the cost of health insurance and healthcare with Byzantine regulations, outdated tax policies and price-setting that distorts the marketplace."
As blogged here previously, such government intrusion into the health care industry has driven up insurance premiums and health care costs to the point where many simply cry "uncle" and wish for a government takeover of the system. Stout recognizes that such people should be careful what they wish for:
Let’s face it, there are systemic problems inherent in the government provision of services. Sure we have experienced a serious drought here in NC, but explain to me why in the most prosperous nation in the history of the planet we can not do a better job at providing perhaps the least scarce resource in the world to our citizens? Are these the same bureaucrats we want to entrust with our health? Stout crystallizes this sentiment superbly:
"It is hard to imagine that a government that addresses customer service complaints about long lines at the post office by taking the clocks off the walls can ever handle the complex and deeply personal healthcare decisions of more than 300 million people."
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