Federal Reform of Health Care

* The health care “reforms” celebrated in your Sept. 26 editorial constitute more governmental micro-management that we will all pay for in higher premiums, and will ultimately treat only the symptoms, not the disease, afflicting health care in this country.

The “disease” is a lack of consumer-oriented choice and competition in the health care industry. Most of us are dependent on our employers for health care and our choices, if any, are limited to a few companies which are not accountable to us but which answer to corporate personnel departments looking for the lowest possible cost.

The “cure” for the disease is a change in the tax laws. Currently, employer-provided health care is tax-free, but individually purchased health plans are not. So, for an employer, paying part of a salary in the form of health care is actually cheaper than paying cash. If individually purchased health insurance received the same tax treatment, most employers would likely want to skip the hassle of administering a health plan and simply pay higher cash salaries.

We consumers would then be free to shop around for the best health care plans to meet our individual needs, and coverage would not be disrupted when we change jobs. Competition and consumer choice would almost certainly be more effective than governmental micro-management in dealing with the problems of “managed” care.

FREDERICK SINGER

Huntington Beach