Controlling Healthcare Costs, Part Two: Analysis of Five Reform Concepts

Utah Foundation's November 2006 report examines healthcare reform concepts suggested by the Employers Healthcare Coalition, a group formed by members of the Salt Lake Chamber. This is part two of a two-part report; the first examined rising healthcare costs and the reasons for high cost growth, and this second report analyzes five reform ideas selected by the coalition after reviewing the findings from part one.

The five reforms examined are:

1. Promoting wider use of best-practice guidelines to reduce costs and increase quality
2. Tort reform to reduce malpractice insurance costs and the costs of "defensive medicine"
3. Reducing state mandates to make insurance policies more affordable
4. Promoting healthier lifestyles through wellness programs and incentives
5. Enacting tax credits to make insurance more affordable

This report is not an endorsement by Utah Foundation of these reforms ideas but an attempt to analyze the current situation in Utah, options for implementing these concepts, trends and developments in state or national policies related to each reform, and experience with similar policies in other states or nationally.