Paul Hsieh OpEd in Pajamas Media

PajamasMedia has just published my latest OpEd, "ObamaCare: A National Version of RomneyCare".

Here is the opening:

The details of Congress' health care "reform" legislation are finally coming into focus, and it's not a pretty picture. Congress is essentially proposing a national version of the failing Massachusetts system.

In 2006, Massachusetts adopted a health care plan which included an individual mandate requiring residents to purchase state-approved health insurance, new regulations on insurance companies specifying who they must cover and what benefits they must provide, and a government-subsidized "public option" for low-income residents. Supporters promised a utopia of "universal coverage" which would save money while improving quality of care. However, the exact opposite has occurred -- health costs in Massachusetts have skyrocketed, while patient care has suffered.

Before we adopt a similar plan at the national level, Americans should know three things about the Massachusetts plan...

I then cover the following points:

1) Massachusetts' system of mandatory insurance drives up costs and violates individual rights.
2) "Coverage" is not the same as actual medical care.
3) The Massachusetts plan will end in rationing.

Read the full text of "ObamaCare: A National Version of RomneyCare".

The third point is an elaboration of my LTE from the November 2, 2009 Wall Street Journal, "The Incentives Aren't to Help You".