My Arkansas News Bureau column this week is about a legislative committee’s decision to vote against a bill that would oppose the health insurance mandate passed last year by Congress and signed by the president. (I don’t like calling it “Obamacare.”)
My point is that the Constitution is clear that state law can’t trump federal law. In fact, it’s pretty hypocritical that legislators would attempt to do something unconstitutional because they say that the health care law is unconstitutional. Dang, I should have written that in the column.
And then I go on a brief rant about how to “fix” health care, as if I know. Basically, I think the big problem with our health care system is that consumers don’t act like consumers. We pay a big lump sum to our health insurance company (or a lifetime of taxes to Medicare) and then access the system without much pain at the point of purchase. We need to pay for more of our health care at the doctor’s office or hospital. That way we’ll use less of it and demand better prices and service.