"If Congress really wants to talk about reforming American health care and getting more people covered, there is a smarter way" than a Senate bill that would expand SCHIP, Allan Hubbard, assistant to the president for economic policy and director of the National Economic Council, writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece. According to Hubbard, the "way to build on the strengths" of the U.S. private health care system "while addressing its shortcomings ... starts with addressing one of the root causes of the problems in health care -- the federal tax code."

Hubbard writes that a proposal by President Bush to provide tax breaks to people who purchase private health insurance is "simple," but its "effect would be revolutionary," adding that more than 100 million people who now receive employer-sponsored health coverage "would see lower tax bills right away," those who purchase private coverage "would get a tax benefit for the first time" and "millions of others who have no health insurance would be able to purchase private coverage." According to Hubbard, "reforming the tax code would achieve these goals without increasing taxes," while the Senate SCHIP expansion bill "would mean more taxes, more spending and more control for federal bureaucrats in Washington" (Hubbard, Wall Street Journal, 7/24).

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