Boca Raton, Fla.
Insurers should choose who will regulate them–unless they are so big and widespread that only federal oversight will do the trick, magazine publisher and former Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes told an industry conference here.
He added that consumers should also be free to purchase certain lines of insurance based on market principles, without regard to a carrier's domicile.
"I think in terms of regulation, conceptually, I think the devil is in the details, but you [insurers] should have a choice of where you want to go," Mr. Forbes said in answer to a question during his address to the annual meeting of the American Association of Managing General Agents here last week.
However, he said that based on the size of the carrier, federal regulation may be necessary to keep oversight consistent.
Meanwhile, he argued that no matter who does the regulating, when it comes to health care, consumers should be allowed to purchase insurance anywhere they deem it most affordable. "In health insurance, even if states are doing the regulation, you should still be allowed, if you live, say, in Florida, to purchase a policy in Illinois if it is kosher in Illinois," he commented.
Mr. Forbes–chair and chief executive officer of Forbes Inc. and editor-in-chief of Forbes magazine–said market forces should be employed to help drive down the cost of health care, warning that government intervention will only increase expenses.
Health care proposals being considered by House Democrats would include a federal plan option to compete with private offerings, along with government subsidies for those who cannot afford coverage.
Mr. Forbes said third-party insurance should be supplemented by health care savings accounts, financed by money paid by employers, as Forbes does for its workers. If the consumer remains healthy and does not have to use everything in the fund, they keep the money in the plan and watch it grow for future health care needs.
Consumers could then purchase catastrophic health care coverage, with those who cannot afford to do so receiving subsidies similar to the federal food stamp program, he explained.
With health care savings accounts, consumers would be paying directly for medical services, he continued, which would prompt them to search for the best price for care–much as they shop for food today.
Noting that market forces have allowed food to grow in abundance, therefore cutting the price of the product, he reasoned the same would happen with health care.
He said current options being proposed in Washington to create a federal health insurance plan to compete with private companies would be the first step toward the United States nationalizing health care. With nationalization would come inadequate reimbursement and shortages of care, he predicted.
"We don't have a real free market in health care," he said. "Where there is greater demand, you prosper."
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