This gives the employer or government predictability as to cost next year or even over the next several years. It also offers an opportunity for the individual to be rewarded for selecting wisely. Current tax law discriminates against someone who buys health insurance as an individual. That needs to be changed. This matter has been discussed repeatedly by my colleagues at The Heritage Foundation, by prominent economists who span the political spectrum, and by a variety of health care policy analysts, from the Cato Institute to the Progressive Policy Institute.
Some mechanism needs to be developed to facilitate that process.
The distinction between purchasing cooperatives and choice cooperatives is an important one. In a purchasing cooperative, employers band together to micromanage the insurance benefits. Typically, the employers determine what the plans should look like and even engage in negotiation over the price. The result is a distorted marketplace that may continue to limit the choice through a cookie-cutter mechanism. Negotiating the price between the cooperative and the insurance plans means that the individual is still insulated from variations in cost from one delivery setting to another.