Op. Editorial by Sarah Andrews

If Republican candidate Ron Paul wins the 2008 presidency, Americans could see a health care system that puts more dollars back into taxpayer wallets and allows for more individual choice in selecting a health care provider.

Paul, a constitutionalist and staunch supporter of a free-market system, opposes HMOs and the managed-care system now in place, saying it is too controlled by the government and is set up to benefit corporations and not individuals. Also an opponent of the universal health care plans touted by some of his Democrat opponents, Paul is calling for several measures that will give individual citizens the power to manage their own health care, limit the federal government’s role in the US health care system, and increase competition among providers in the private market.

1. Abolishment of HMOs
Paul believes that government involvement in HMOs has created a convoluted system of red tape that has consistently driven up the cost of health care by its lack of accountability. He also criticizes federal laws that provide tax incentives for employers who offer employee health care plans, saying those incentives should be provided to the employees directly.

Paul wants to abolish HMOs completely and rewrite tax codes so individuals are given a dollar-for-dollar tax credit on their monthly health care premiums. This system, he says, will motivate both medical providers and patients to keep costs low, since neither party will be reliant on a third party, currently the HMOs, to pay the bills. Paul also believes opening the system to the free market will give individuals more freedom to choose a plan that best suits their needs, rather than be limited to the plans offered by an employer.

2. Cheaper drugs for seniors
Paul supports the rights of seniors to purchase cheap, foreign prescription drugs and believes that individuals should have complete control over such medical choices, especially when government regulation of these decisions can have a negative impact on a person’s finances. He also supports the establishments of tax credits for seniors who require costly prescriptions.

3. Allowing state governments to rule on marijuana for medicinal use
Paul wants the legalization of medicinal marijuana to be decided on a state level. Once again, he stays consistent about non-federal, localized decision making, saying federal intervention is unconstitutional.

In fact, Paul believes decisions about the legalization of all narcotics should be made at the state level and is opposed to the government’s War on Drugs, calling it an ineffectual and harmful policy.

4. Allowing state governments to rule on abortion
Though Paul is personally an opponent of abortion and has called it “an act of violence,” he believes that abortion laws should be determined by state governments. In 2005, Paul sponsored the “We the People Act”, which would prohibit federal courts from ruling on issues like abortion, same-sex marriages, prayer in school, and sexual practices.

Paul defends this policy as being fairer to the individual taxpayer. Much of the discontent among pro-lifers, he says, can be traced to the fact that federal courts are allocating portions of their tax dollars to policies that they abhor without taking it to popular vote.

5. Opening stem cell research to the private market
While acknowledging the sensitivity of the issue, Paul generally supports stem cell research in the private market, but does not believe it should be prohibited or funded by the federal government. During a recent interview with the Nashua Telegraph in New Hampshire, Paul said the choice in Washington is often “to ban it or to subsidize it.”

Using the same rationale he uses when discussing abortion, Paul says the federal government should not fund such controversial social issues since it is unfair to the taxpayer. Paul supports stem cell research using amniotic fluid and other methods that do not involve abortion, but believes it’s a subject for the private market.

6. Creating tax-exempt Medical Savings Accounts
Paul supports allowing individuals to set up a tax-exempt savings account to be used solely for paying medical expenses, and he voted for a bill to establish Medical Savings Accounts.

The bill also contained provisions that would allow self-employed persons or persons paying for their own insurance to claim their health care premiums as tax deductions. Paul supports the creation of Healthmarts, which would allow small businesses and individuals to come together in a group or association and purchase insurance plans like large corporations and at similar rates.

7. Insuring patients against malpractice suits
Paul is in favor of allowing patients who require surgery or other major health procedures to purchase insurance protecting them against malpractice before the procedure. The insurance would guarantee that the patient is covered for additional treatment in the event that something went wrong. This would have the dual effect of eliminating the costliness of malpractice suits.

8. Limiting the powers of the Federal Drug Administration and Federal Trade Commission
This year, Paul reintroduced the Health Freedom Protection Act, which aims to reduce the current legal powers the FDA has to regulate what information is and is not released to the public regarding dietary supplements, foods, vitamins, and natural remedies.

For example, under the current system, the FTC has the power to prosecute marketers who make absolute claims about a food’s, vitamin’s or mineral’s health benefits even if those benefits have been proven. Paul says this inhibits individuals from learning how to improve their health by changing or supplementing their diet rather than turning to prescription medications.

9. Less reliance on government programs, such as Medicare
Expensive federal “trust fund” programs like Medicare and Medicaid are not sustainable, says Paul, who believes that Congress should repeal its approval of the 2003 Medicare prescription drug bill. Paul believes in putting more emphasis on establishing savings programs in the free market, saying that the government’s spending on Medicare is irresponsible and impossible when looking at the country’s current debt.

While Paul does not specifically call for the abolishment of Medicare, he is adamant that there are few solutions to the damage already created by the program and said the focus now needs to be on transitioning younger taxpayers out of Medicare.

10. Tax breaks for individuals who have cancer or are terminally ill
Paul supports legislation that would exempt individuals who have been diagnosed with cancer or a terminal illness from Social Security payroll taxes. This tax break would also apply to persons who are the primary caregiver and are married to or are the parent of an individual with cancer or a terminal illness.

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Paul runs his campaign on a platform of less government and more accountability to taxpayers and state governments, and his positions on the country’s health care system are consistent with that platform.

If Paul is elected, US citizens would likely see a health care system that affords them more options, is more affordable, and that is more reliant on and susceptible to the free market. While programs like Medicare would not disappear overnight, policies moving away from such government-heavy systems would likely be developed.