Utah’s health-care reform


A conservative state believes it has a better answer to the health-care question

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Readers' comments




So, a democratic president takes and implements a republican idea, ruining it for all times. Yeah, I think its safe to say that current GOP is a little dysfunctional.


I'm a physician in Utah. We are model for health care reform like Greece is a model for government fiscal responsibility. Our exchange needs Obamacare to succeed yet are political leadership has taken an oath to drive a stake into the Affordable Care Act's heart






Damn Dirty Ape

The democrats should try this in other areas. Get a black guy to come out in favor of tax breaks for the rich and for not cutting the defense budget and viola thier agenda gets passed.


I promise you this. If tomorrow Obama remodeled his healthcare plan and copied the Utah Health Exchange exactly as it is, the very same proponents of this model will all of a sudden realize that its bad for the country and demand it be dismantled. All of a sudden they'll complain that its being shoved down their throats and that its unconstitutional and any other excuse they can come up with.


At some point, business will advocate for universal health care under a single payer system (medicaid for all) because it will include everybody, require preventive health services, reform the payment system and be efficiently administered by the government (3% admin compared to 20% private admin). By having universal health care, the cost of health care can be shifted to the public and shared equally by everyone and thus lowering the cost of production and making American business more price competitive internationally.


Author notes: Romney is a hero in Utah due to saving the Olympics. ???

As a Utahn, and Economist reader, I remember The Economist mentioning it was Federal subsidies that saved the 2002 Olympics. Cognitive dissonance when attacking Obama much?


"And that, too, turns out to be another veiled jab at Mr Obama. If the Supreme Court upholds the federal law, says Mr Thurston, the Utah Health Exchange would not be derailed, but its adoption would remain limited to small business. Utah’s reform would necessarily stay modest, in short. But if the federal law falls, Utah thinks it has a model to fill the void."
Leaving unemployed or self-employed individuals out of luck. Screw the little guy. What the hey.

DAG001 in reply to Serapis23

And ur sitting on the SCOTUS, haha, what is more imbecilic is the points in the article -- Obamacare is based on ideas and concepts first advocated by conservatives -- and the current republican presidential candidate. The biggest problem that Republicans have with obamacare and most of the 'conservative' things obama has proposed? its that they are not sitting in the white house getting the credit for it!! That is right-wing politics at its worst.

Another imbecilic thing is that the greatest nation in the world can't provide health care for all its citizens and pays nearly twice as much (as % of GDP) than many 'socialist' countries in this failure. What's your answer to that, big boy (Compare say Sweden or even Germany). But don't bother with these countries, take a look at how they do things is 'backward' countries like Singapore and S.Korea!


The author noted 6,000 people use the exchange as praise. As a Utahn, may I inform him that there is over a million people in Utah. Perhaps the Utah exchange isn't a success as being labeled. Perhaps some journalism skills on investigating why it has failed.
In fact, if the author had gone to it and used it, he would have seen nothing new or impressive about it. It does not increase quality nor deliver greater access.


The core problem is not accessibility. It's cost.

Healthcare is far more expensive in the US than in any country and health outcomes are no better. It's a systemic problem, complicated by inefficiencies and the political power of entrenched players.

I fail to see how the Utah exchange will address this in the least.

Beth A.

Utah's uninsured rate: 15%
Massachusett's uninsured rate: 6%

84% of the businesses on the exchange already offered coverage: this is an actual instance of crowding out. Approximately 224 people have insurance because of the exchange than had insurance before it. It hasn't brought costs down at all, and actually raised them until the government stepped in to regulate underwriting standards.

It looks to me like an example of wasteful government spending that has led to greater government control of health care. Ironic, that.

guest-iswewaw in reply to Pompatus

It's a bit absurd to complain about British spelling in the forum of a british publication.

We Americans are great at good many things, too many to name here. But our Health Care system is a shambles. We could copy the system of any industrialized country in the world and be better off.

LexHumana in reply to guest-wonemoo

I expected more intelligence out of the readership of the Economist.

You didn't say whether you were participating as an employer or as an employee, so I'll answer both. The exchange system benefits your employer by allowing your employer to limit their downside risk by making it a defined contribution plan, so they are not on the hook for escalating premiums. The exchange system benfits you (the employee) by allowing you a choice from multiple possible insurers, not just one (which is what most employer-sponsored benefit plans provide; you use what they picked for the company, and have no choice).

You seem to think that the exchange is supposed to provide you something cheaper or "extra special" that can't be found in the open market. This is a false expectation. The fact that the exchange offers programs that are identical to the ones on the open market is a good thing -- it shows that the available coverages are not limited by participating in the exchange. If you are an employee, be thankful that you have the choice (at the same fair market price as everyone else) of a wider variety of policies than some other folks get from their jobs (most are stuck with only one). If you are the employer, be thankful you can provide your employees a wide variety of choices, and aren't stuck with an ever increasing bill.

I doubt it

This is a cool idea that should have been tried long ago. But even if it's as successful as its backers hope, it will barely change the dysfunctional insurance market.

One surprising complaint this doesn't address is how hard it is for the self-employed monied class to get coverage. It's not that they can't afford it. It's simply that the insurance companies won't provide it: I've seen dandruff cited as a disqualifying precondition.



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