Monday, August 17, 2009

The Whole Foods Alternative to ObamaCare

If you have not yet read John Mackey's piece in the Wall Street Journal, The Whole Foods Alternative to ObamaCare, I recommend it. Mackey, the co-founder of Whole Foods makes 8 suggestions that he feels will reduce the cost of health care that will not add to the deficit. Most of his suggestions involve reducing or eliminating legislation.

While his comparisons to Canada and England as far as the waiting lists is questionable since the US is not considering a full socialized health care plan, he does raise an interesting point that I believe drives home the main desire of a majority of people no matter what nation they live in - they want a choice.

At Whole Foods we allow our team members to vote on what benefits they most want the company to fund. Our Canadian and British employees express their benefit preferences very clearly—they want supplemental health-care dollars that they can control and spend themselves without permission from their governments. Why would they want such additional health-care benefit dollars if they already have an "intrinsic right to health care"? The answer is clear—no such right truly exists in either Canada or the U.K.—or in any other country.

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