Healthcare Critics And The Brooks Strategy

An early copy of the Kennedy healthcare bill appears to have leaked over the weekend. Keith Hennessey, who worked in the White House as an economic advisor to President George W. Bush and strongly opposes the bill, reads through it. Dick Posner and Gary Becker also argued against the administration's health care plan this weekend. Posner:

I would not object if a program of universal health insurance could be financed by reducing or eliminating the tax deductibility of health insurance. But only a modest reduction, if that, in its deductibility is politically feasible. The reforms that the Administration contends will not only pay for the program but also reduce the aggregate costs of health care in the United States are probably pie in the sky. Digitization of medical records does increase efficiency: it makes it easier to change doctors, track health histories, and coordinate medical services. But the net savings are likely to be modest or even negative, because anything that lowers the average cost of a given quality of health care increases demand, just as broadening insurance coverage does.

OMB director Peter Orszag responds to Posner (along with Virginia Postrel and Mickey Kaus) and Ezra debates the politics of answering to your critics.