No matter what part of the country you live in, there’s probably a free-market think tank nearby that’s active in the health-care debate. Just in the past few days, for example:
• The Platte Institute in Nebraska held a forum with Havard’s Regina Herzlinger, who kicked the struts out from under Obamacare and advocated a thorough reform of the system based on market principles.
• The Texas Public Policy Foundation published several new papers and articles on health care reform, including research by economist Arthur Laffer. Florida’s James Madison Institute also published a version of Laffer’s paper, The Prognosis for National Health Insurance.
• The Maine Heritage Policy Center cited the failure of the state’s Dirigo program as a compelling reason not to move forward with the federal version being crafted in Congress.
• The Georgia Public Policy Foundation challenged Congress and the Obama administration to reform the parts of the health care financing system already under government control before trying to exert more power over the private insurance market.
• The Pacific Research Institute is holding a forum this evening in San Francisco, focusing on the vast expansion of regulatory power that will come from federal legislation. It features Critical Condition contributor Jack Graham.
That’s just a short list of health-care reform activities and publications by free-market groups from coast to coast. You can visit the State Policy Network, essentially a trade association for think tanks, and from there search for a state institute near you from which you can get invitations, inspiration, or ammunition.