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Millions of Americans in high-deductible health plans associated with HSAs may find it easier to access insulin, inhalers and other treatments for chronic health problems under guidance released last week by the Trump administration. Currently, people in high-deductible plans with pretax health-savings accounts have to pay down their deductible before their insurance covers treatment for…

Public programs pay health-care providers less than private payers. Low prices imposed on doctors and hospitals can’t stop health-care costs from rising. Someone has to pay the bill—namely, Americans who purchase their coverage directly or through their jobs.

The central unanswered question in the U.S. health system is how to discipline costs. The choice is between reliance on regulatory controls put in place by the federal government or injection of stronger financial incentives for consumers into the markets for medical services and insurance.

Congress has twice delayed the Cadillac Tax—originally set to take effect in 2018—and weakened it by allowing employers to deduct the levy itself from their profits. But repealing the Cadillac tax is a bad idea. Instead, Congress should modify it to encourage the use of health savings accounts. It would be better to shift the…

In place of the Cadillac Tax, we should offer employers and their employees the option of a dollar-for-dollar tax credit up to the amount of the tax subsidy they have been getting through the tax exclusion. This would solve the problem economists complain about, put health insurance and take-home pay on a level playing field at the margin, and greatly reduce the incentives we all have to over-spend on health care.

Determining whether the prices for medicines are appropriate or not is critically important, which is why studies that attempt to answer this question must stand up to scrutiny. Studies that undervalue medicines jeopardize the development of future cures, while studies that overvalue medicines justify the imposition of excessive health care costs today.

A closer look at the evolution of Medicare Advantage demonstrates that the private sector has proven to be a remarkable laboratory for innovation and progress in our health system’s core evolution—to align the payment and care delivery system with value and the outcomes we care about most for America’s seniors.

The prices of health care services are a key consideration in the debate over “Medicare for all” and related single-payer proposals. The term prices refers to the allowed payment per unit of service. In the broadest versions of these reforms, in which commercial insurance plans would transition into a universal Medicare–like program, physicians and hospitals…

“Medicare for All” proposals may vary greatly, but a common feature is their call for the regulation of prices for hospital care. This element has widespread support among establishment Democrats, and it lacks the enormous cost and controversy associated with other aspects of single-payer health care. Comprehensive hospital-payment regulation is not a new idea: it’s…

We find privatization [in Medicaid] led to improvements in health care—including increased consumption of high-value drug treatments and fewer avoidable hospitalizations—but also higher Medicaid spending. We conclude that private provision can be beneficial when constraints in the public setting limit efficiency.