At the top of my wish list would be addressing thecost of health CARE ratherthan focusing on the cost of health INSURANCE. A major factor inthe rising cost of health care in our country is that the consumeris too far removed from the actual cost of their care. As a result,the cost of care continues to rise, as does the cost ofinsurance.

Our current third-party payer health care system does notinduce, nor in many cases afford the opportunity, for a consumer todetermine the value of the care they are considering. Only theconsumer can determine if the value of the resources used for theirmedical treatment are greater than the value provided by themedical treatment. When they are paying 20 percent of the cost ofthe medical treatment, the determination of the value of the careis very different than it is when they are paying 100 percent ofthe cost of the care. If we put consumers back in control ofdetermining efficient quality and quantity, that will drive downthe cost of health care and in turn, bring down the cost of healthinsurance.

Joni Reents