How to lower healthcare costs

(This Letter to the Editor was submitted to the Opelika-Auburn News on 24 March 2006 in response to this editorial.)

Dear Editor,

In your 22 March 2006 edition, a staff editorial called for an "overhaul of national health care." While I agree with your staff's call for change, I must differ as to what kind of change is needed.

It is true that many Americans cannot afford the healthcare of the highest quality, but government intervention is a major cause of the problem, not a solution. The high cost of drugs is a consequence of ever-lengthening drug patent terms and the almost insurmountable cost of getting a new drug approved by the FDA. For a single drug, this can run anywhere from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars. This high level of regulation discourages new companies from engaging in just the sort of competitive innovation that could seriously lower drug costs in the long-term.

The "strong lobbying influence" wielded by the pharmaceutical industry is a direct result of the public policies that have made the government itself the industry's most important customer. If individuals were to pay for their own healthcare, there would be far less opportunity for companies to seek special favors from politicians and bureaucrats.

Finally, the government's guarantee of health care to all removes an important incentive for living a healthy lifestyle—the real monetary cost of poor health. No one wants those in poverty to be neglected medically, but a sense of entitlement to taxpayer-sponsored health services is sure to encourage overeating, smoking, and other unhealthy lifestyle choices among those least able to afford the consequences. The real solution to the healthcare crisis is liberty and personal responsibility, not government.

Dick Clark
Candidate, Alabama House of Representatives, District 79
www.CitizenClark.com