Too many Americans do not fully understand how the health insurancethey receive through their employer is financed. Formal premiumpayments to health insurance companies are made by employers justas employers pay for other fringe benefits. Placing a cap on taxbenefits for employer-sponsored health insurance increases healthplan transparency and places a greater emphasis on plan quality,not size.
President-elect Obama's rationale for a new public health plan isthat it would give Americans who are not enrolled inemployment-based health insurance coverage, or those with insecurecoverage, the opportunity to obtain stable, affordable healthinsurance with a guaranteed set of government-standardizedbenefits. But while this might look like a prescription forconsumer choice and competition, the reality is very different.