The latest Washington Monthly offers up an article by Ezekiel Emanuel and Victor Fuchs arguing that universal health care vouchers are the silver bullet for our health care crisis and demanding that progressives should throw their weight behind them. Ugh.
Universal health vouchers are one of those third way ideas that've been kicking around for quite some time and pop up whenever anybody wants to broker a grand compromise. In this incarnation, every American gets a voucher that pays for their health coverage with a private insurer. Insurers face heavier regulation on what they can/can't exclude, but are also reimbursed commensurately with the risk of the patients they take on (which means no cherry picking). Vouchers cover basic care, you can buy supplemental insurance atop that if you want more doctor choice, hospital choice, procedures, etc. The whole thing is paid for by a VAT, administered by government commission, and looked after by regional alliances.
