WASHINGTON, Apr 17, 2002 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Some of the government's influence over personal health care decisions must be curtailed to combat ever-increasing costs of American health care, a top adviser to president Bush on medical issues said today in a speech at a think tank in Washington, D.C.

In his speech at the conservative Heritage Foundation, Dr. Mark McClellan, a member of the President's Council of Economic Advisors and an internist, outlined the administration's philosophy for making "significant reforms and improvements" to the nation's health care system, which are aimed at increasing access and improving quality of care.

Despite the strength of the U.S. health care system, he said, increasing costs linked to improvements in medical technologies threaten the system's efficiency and effectiveness.

"There is a lot of evidence that we can be doing better," said McClellan. "It is clearly the case that we ought to be getting more for the dollars that we are spending on health care. As costs go up and up and up -- as every expert believes -- we need to make sure we are getting the most for our health care dollar."

McClellan said the administration believes the answer to cost containment and patient access to quality care is to limit some of the government's influence. He said placing control back into the hands of patients by expanding the choice of insurance options for many Americans and embracing market competition can help. Both of these approaches, he said, can lead to the more efficient delivery of medical care.

To implement these policy goals, he said the administration has made various recommendations to promote participation in existing private health plans, including changes for tax-free medical saving and flexible saving accounts. In addition, he detailed the tax credits for the self-employed and unemployed, to be used for the purchase of insurance, along with programs to protect the employer-sponsored health plans the White House has promoted.

In the case of medical saving accounts, McClellan said that to increase interest in the scheme plan that allows setting aside untaxed income for health care, the administration has proposed to reduce the deductible threshold for medical expenses to something around $1,000 per individual from the current $3,000 level. In addition, he outlined potential changes to the tax code that would correct the fundamental imbalances between the treatment of HMO deductibles and those of non-managed care insurance plans. Currently, HMO deductibles can be deducted from one's federal income taxes, while those from other insurance options cannot, he said.

A related proposal would change the law to allow flexible spending accounts to be rolled over annually, instead of the current system, which requires individuals to spend the money set aside or lose it at year's end.

Regarding small businesses, McClellan said the Bush administration is promoting the concept of pooled health care buying by multiple companies -- potentially through small business associations -- would allow employees of small companies to attain some of the same health plan flexibility that large companies are able to provide.

When asked how the administration proposes to protect citizens from health insurance companies that want to block access to the best -- but perhaps very expensive -- available care, and about the challenge this could pose to their plans to further embrace marketplace forces, McClellan replied:

"We think that a good patient's bill of rights based upon the appropriate ideals would be helpful," said McClellan. "However, we don't want to open the door to unlimited litigation and exacerbate the problem."

　　From Healthy.net