[d-ray657]

I would suggest that an extremely important reform to the health care and health insurance industry, which did not survive the intense lobbying, is the repeal of the antitrust exemptions for those industries. (Wasn't health care a profession at one time, rather than an industry?) One needn't be a PHD in economics to conclude that price-fixing raises costs for most any product. When health care providers on one side, and insurance providers on the other side are able to engage in price fixing, the consumer loses.

Ironically, this would not be regulation, but an insistence that those industries actually operate in a competitive market. The libertarian Ron Paul, who opposes most all regulation, strongly advocates strict enforcement of anti-trust laws to prevent imbalanced operation of the market. In this market, consumers are essentially powerless and badly in need of help by someone with the authority and resources to stand up to the accumulated capital of the insurance companies.

By the way, the mish-mash of state regulation would be eliminated by a single payer plan, or by exclusive federal regulation of insurance. The multi-employer, self funded health and welfare plans (union sponsored) are regulated exclusively by the federal government under ERISA. As a rule, with no profit, no commissions, no dividends, minimal advertising, and no executive bonuses, those plans operate quite efficiently at delivering services to their beneficiaries, at a lower costs than the corporate insurance industry. Taking the greed out of the provision of health coverage seems to be a much better way of serving the consumer.

Regards,

D-Ray