Health Care Marketplace: Cut Costs And Create Competition

By Courtney Ann Jackson-Talk Radio News Service

The issue of promoting competition and preventing rising health care costs was discussed by the Consumer, Product Safety, and Insurance Subcommittee during a hearing Thursday morning.

“For too long, too many health care decisions have been made behind closed doors with industry profits, not the patient’s best interests in mind,” said Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V.). “It is no surprise that without any transparency or the force of competition to keep them honest, industry profits soared, as have consumer costs and the barriers to necessary medical care.”

Representatives from various organizations including the Federal Trade Commission, New America Foundation, Center for American Progress, Arkansas Pharmacists Association and Galen Institute testified at the hearing.

Richard Feinstein, Director of the Bureau of Competition at the Federal Trade Commisssion (FTC), highlighted the need to prevent or stop anticompetitive agreements that raise health care prices. He said anitrust enforcement saves money that consumers, employers, and governments could spend on health care. All the panelists agreed that reform is needed, and more should be done to create more health care incentives for the public.

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) also held a health care discussion of his own Thursday. Barrasso and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) are hosting a new online show entitled “The Senate Doctors Show.” Barrasso and Coburn are the only doctors in the Senate and their new show will feature them answering questions from the public about health care proposals under debate in Congress.

“I think you ought to take the bill home, read it, talk to people about it. The best ideas don’t come from Washington...I think the American people have a right to expect to see the bill, read the bill, think about the bill, and come up with some suggestions,” said Barrasso.

"The Senate Doctors Show" is streamed live at http://republican.senate.gov/doctors every Tuesday and Thursday at 4:00 p.m. EDT.

Targeted Internet advertising hits the bullseye, but misses privacy

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing on the privacy implications of Internet advertising. Advertising targeted to consumers’ interests was most discussed. Lydia Parnes, the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission said that the implications of online advertising are very complex, but the Commission is hopeful that the industry can self-regulate, meaning federal intervention may not be necessary.

By contrast, Leslie Harris, the President and Chief Executive Officer at the Center for Democracy and Technology said that self-regulation does not work. Clyde Wayne Crews, Jr., the Vice President for Policy and Director of Technology Studies at the Competitive Enterprise Institute said that although there is a market for anonymity, the Internet is not the network for privacy. He said that because of targeted advertising, ads are now relevant. Mike Hintze, the Associate General for Counsel, Legal, and Corporate Affairs at Microsoft Corporation, said that $21 billion were spent last year on online advertising because it is interactive, targeted, relevant, and beneficial to advertisers because the targeted groups are more likely to buy the product.

Chris Kelly, the Chief Privacy Officer at Facebook Incorporated said that all of their users have very easy access to privacy settings to make sure they control what information they share and who they share it with. He said that targeted advertising benefits users, but personal information is not given. Robert R. Dykes, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NebuAd Incorporated said that in his business, Internet users can opt out of the ads, but their personal information still streams through their system. They have no identifiable information like names or IP addresses.