We, the undersigned leaders of state think tanks, believe that expanding the role of government in the health care market is not the change that America needs. Congress should focus on a patient-centered approach to health care reform that respects the patient-doctor relationship and empowers the patient and the doctor to make effective and economical health policy choices.

To read a full report on patient-centered reforms from
economist Art Laffer, click here.


A patient-centered health care reform:


Begins with individual ownership of insurance policies. The tax deduction that allows employers to own your insurance should instead be given to the individual

Leverages Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). HSAs empower individuals to monitor their health care costs and create incentives for individuals to use only those services that are necessary

Allows interstate purchasing of insurance. Policies in some states are more affordable because they include fewer bells and whistles, and consumers should be empowered to decide which benefits they need and what prices they are willing to pay

Reduces the number of mandated benefits insurers are required to cover. Empowering consumers to choose which benefits they need is only effective if insurers are able to fill these needs
Reallocates the majority of Medicaid spending into simple vouchers for low-income individuals to purchase their own insurance. An income-based sliding scale voucher program would eliminate much of the massive bureaucracy that is needed to implement today's complex and burdensome Medicaid system and produce considerable cost savings

Eliminates unnecessary scope-of-practice laws and allows non-physician health care professionals practice to the extent of their education and training. Retail clinics have shown that increasing the provider pool safely increases competition and access to care and empowers the patient to decide from whom they receive their care

Reforms tort liability laws. Defensive medicine needlessly drives up medical costs and creates an adversarial relationship between doctors and patients






















John Tillman
CEO
Illinois Policy Institute

John McClaughry
President
Ethan Allen Institute

Barrett E. Kidner
Chairman & CEO
Caesar Rodney Institute

Brandon Dutcher
VP for Policy
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, Inc.

Carlo LoParo
President
The Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions

Annette T. Meeks
CEO
Freedom Foundation of Minnesota

Mitch Pearlstein
President
Center of the American Experiment

Brooke Rollins
President & CEO
Texas Public Policy Foundation

Dr. Donald P. Racheter
President
Public Interest Institute

Forest Thigpen
President
Mississippi Center for Public Policy

Dann Mead Smith
President
Washington Policy Center

William J. Felkner
President
Ocean State Policy Research Institute

Craig Ladwig
Director
Indiana Policy Review Foundation

John Hood
President
John Locke Foundation

Dave Trabert
President
Flint Hills Center for Public Policy

Shaka L.A. Mitchell
Exec. Vice President
Tennessee Center for Policy Research

Carl Graham
President
Montana Policy Institute

Lynn Harsh
CEO
Evergreen Freedom Foundation

Matthew J. Brouillette
President & CEO
Commonwealth Foundation
Edmund J. McMahon
Director
Empire Center for New York State Policy

J. Robert McClure, III
President & CEO
James Madison Institute

Paul J. Gessing
President
Rio Grande Foundation

Kevin P. Kane
President
Pelican Institute for Public Policy

Wayne Hoffman
Executive Director
Idaho Freedom Foundation

Jamie Story
President
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii

Brett Healy
President
John. K MacIver Institute for Public Policy

Paul T. Mero
President
Sutherland Institute

Joseph G. Lehman
President
Mackinac Center for Public Policy

Jon Caldara
President
Independence Institute

Brett Narloch
Executive Director
North Dakota Policy Council

Sharon J. Rossie
President
Nevada Policy Research Institute

Tarren R. Bragdon
CEO
Maine Heritage Policy Center

Kelly McCutchen
Exec. VP
Georgia Public Policy Foundation


Learn more by contacting healthreform@illinoispolicy.org.