To Lower Medical Care And Insurance Costs Increase The Number Of Medical Providers: My Wall St Journal Comment

My posted comment to The Wall Street Journal, Opinion, "It’ll Take More Than a Band-Aid to Fix Medicaid: Save the program by giving states money to provide high-deductible plans with health savings accounts." by Regina Herzlinger and Richard Boxer:

Like all other goods and services, medical care availability and prices follow supply and demand rules. To realize the potential that high-deductible insurance plans and consumer-controlled HSA's have to lower medical care cost, changes also must be made to increase the supply of medical providers.

The high barriers to entry in the medical profession must be lowered to increase the supply of providers. Give incentives to states to lower restrictions on the use of physician assistants and nurses to allow for independent routine diagnosis and care. Increase the number of visas for well-trained foreign doctors and nurses and allow for their quick licensing without burdensome additional training. Remove state level unmet need based criteria for opening a new hospital.

Health insurance is only a reimbursement for medical costs. As consumers gain medical care buying control and as the supply of medical providers increases, prices and usage will decline and create lower insurance premiums.