Throughout the debate over liberals health care proposals, it has become clear that *while Americans want health care reform, they reject the direction of the legislation that will be voted on in the House this weekend.* The current health care bill results in a government takeover of the health care system by imposing strict regulations on insurers, mandates on employers and individuals, and an expansion of costly and inefficient entitlements.* States and citizens alike are rebelling against the bill in a bipartisan manner.* State legislators reject the bill because it significantly reduces their authority over health insurance markets and flexibility in <ahref="http://www.heritage.org/research/health care/">managing Medicaid. With only 47 percent believing that it is the federal governments responsibility to ensure coverage, <ahref="http://www.aei.org/docLib/RoleOfGovernment.pdf">Americans are rightly alarmed by the intrusive nature of the legislation.
Former Congressman Tom Feeney (R-FL) recently worked with the Heritage Foundation to outline a solution that promotes individual freedom in health care markets:* <ahref="http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2010/03/Interstate-Competition-and-Choice-in-Health-Insurance-The-American-Way">interstate commerce contracts among states. Interstate commerce for health insurers would create robust competition, lowering costs for the citizens of the allied states .* It is a step towards reform that states can take without action from Washington.* As Rep. Feeney <ahref="http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2010/03/Interstate-Competition-and-Choice-in-Health-Insurance-The-American-Way">remarks:<spanid="more-29368"></span>
The genius of the American federal system provides a natural set of diverse alternatives to centralized system of planningwhich would force 300 million Americans into a collectivist straight jacket where all key decisions will ultimately be made in Washington.
Interstate commerce would go a long ways to better Americas health care system.* Interstate contracts are health insurance exchanges across states that create larger insurance markets and enhance competition among insurers.* By allowing citizens of other states to purchase cost-effective plans across state borders, they promote individual freedom to choose among competing plans that offer the best combination of cost and coverage levels.* Done correctly, interstate commerce will reduce bureaucracy, provide simplified one-stop shopping, allow people to get better and more varied health coverage. The nest step is for Congress to enable people to take their plans from job to job <ahref="http://s3.amazonaws.com/thf_media/2009/pdf/StateHealthReform_Handbook.pdf">without losing the tax benefits of employer-based coverage.
It is important to note that states legislators are currently fully within their constitutional rights to make interstate compacts in the insurance markets.* The Constitution authorizes states to engage in multilateral agreements that support interstate commerce.* It reserves state powers for self governance, including the power to enter into agreement to facilitate interactions between citizens of one state and another.* So long that a state does not restrict commerce in other states, they are not restricted by the commerce clause.* Interstate compacts in health insurance markets expand options outside their jurisdiction.* In health insurance markets, states are the supreme authority.
Health care debate can serve as a catalyst for the rebirth of federalism, and no area is more advantageous for state reform than health care.* States governments and the American people have already voiced their complaints about the perils of the federal *health care legislation.* It is now time for state legislators to take the lead on health care reform.* The best way to do this is by entering into interstate compacts with other states that promote individual freedoms.
Rick Sherwood currently is a member of the Young Leaders Program at the Heritage Foundation. For more information on interning at Heritage, please visit: <ahref="http://www.heritage.org/About/Internships-Young-Leaders/The-Heritage-Foundation-Internship-Program">http://www.heritage.org/About/Intern…rnship-Program