Daschle on Health
by John Goodman
Issue 121 - December 3, 2008

With Tom Daschle slated to become the next HHS Secretary, there has been a mad rush to get a copy of his book, Critical: What We Can Do About the Health Care Crisis, which apparently no one had previously read. Since booksellers can't possibly meet the demand, here is my brief attempt to satisfy your curiosity.

The main ideas: Medicaid expansion, Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) for everyone who wants to enroll, Medicare for the nonelderly as a FEHBP option, a play-or-pay mandate for individuals, income-based, refundable tax credit subsidies (both at work and away from work), a play-or-pay mandate for employers, electronic medical records, a national health board ("to establish a single standard of care for  every other provider and payer"…covering every disease from cancer to diabetes  and even depression), preventive care, dental health, mental health, long-term care, home care, community health centers and combating obesity.

Not on the list: Health Savings Accounts, although Daschle was once an advocate, and even cosponsored HSA legislation.

Not on the list: Single-payer health insurance, but only because it is not politically practical.

Not on the list: Any way to pay for any of this. (The issue is not, can we afford reform?  The issue is, can we afford not to?) I'm not kidding.

John Goodman is President of the National Center for Policy Analysis