An editorial and several opinion pieces recently addressed problems with the U.S. health care system. Summaries appear below.Charlotte News & Observer: A recent Commonwealth Fund report showed that "many employers" are being forced to "jettison" health care benefits because of rising health care costs, meaning lack of health insurance no longer is a "problem affecting only low-skill workers," a News & Observer editorial states. The editorial concludes that "[b]efore health care becomes a perk for only the rich, Congress ought to take another hard look at how to make sure it is available for all" (Charlotte News & Observer, 5/1).

Paul Krugman, New York Times: Reports of how the uninsured are spending their savings on health care and how health insurers' business is lagging because of "rising premiums and medical costs" demonstrate how the U.S. health care system is "driving a growing number of Americans into financial ruin, and in many cases kill[ing] them through lack of basic care," columnist Krugman writes in a Times opinion piece. Krugman says that "[i]f you do the math ... covering everyone under Medicare would actually be significantly cheaper than our current system" (Krugman, New York Times, 5/1).

Scot Atlas, Wall Street Journal: In its efforts to reform its health care system, China must avoid listening to "health policy 'experts' from the West" who say it is important to "prevent health care from being exposed to the free market," Atlas, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, writes in a Journal opinion piece. He says that western health care systems' mistakes "include sheltering patients from direct payment of health costs, overregulating health insurance, linking health insurance to employment and giving special tax treatment to health care expenses" (Atlas, Wall Street Journal, 5/1).

Reps. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) and Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), Washington Times: A proposal currently in Congress to allow consumers to purchase health insurance from any state would help address the problem of individuals being forced to purchase more expensive insurance than they need because of state mandates, Shadegg and DeMint write in a Times opinion piece. According to Shadegg and DeMint, the bill would improve competition among health insurers, resulting in lower overall costs to consumers. They conclude that by passing the bill, Congress would ensure that "America's health care slogan for the 21st century will be 'When insurance providers compete, patients win'" (Shadegg/DeMint, Washington Times, 5/1).

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