In a lecture to the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank, Senator Mike Enzi set a broad conservative agenda for healthcare reform.  He recognizes that the increasing costs and sinking quality of healthcare necessitate 'comprehensive reform.'  While Enzi's principles are not revolutionary, they succinctly capture the Republican position in the upcoming debate over the future of US healthcare.

The proposal seeks to increase the accessibility of healthcare and control costs without sacrificing quality.  The goal of the idea is not to provide a detailed reform package for healthcare (for Enzi realizes that the conservatives are not in a position to activate one), but to clarify the GOP's position on upcoming negotiations.

The Enzi plan would focus on facilitating a robust private insurance market.  Private insurers would be barred from selecting patients based on their prospective risk or refusing coverage based on pre-existing conditions. The plan would provide subsidies to low-income Americans so that they can access private health insurance.  The breadth and conditions of such a subsidy program was not specified.

 

The plan claims that it would increase government oversight of the insurance market to control costs to the consumer, but it does not specify what that oversight would entail.  Enzi further argues for more transparency in the healthcare industry so that insurers understand the options before them and the bailiwick of their selected coverage.  The speech does not provide details of a prospective transparency initiative.

Since the plan does not offer specific reforms, we cannot estimate its cost.  The primary cost of implementing the Enzi proposal would be subsidies for low-income Americans who currently cannot afford healthcare.  Since the proposed reforms are otherwise relatively modest, the new resources needed for implementation would be relatively few.