Federal health care reform would cost Texas dearly

San Antonio Express-News

Arlene Wohlgemuth

As Congress continues its health care debate, the American public is focused squarely on the implications that current federal proposals will have on our nation’s economy, health-care system and fiscal future.

“The Prognosis for National Health Insurance: A Texas Perspective,” the recent report by internationally renowned economist Arthur Laffer for the Texas Public Policy Foundation, concluded that a reform based on President Barack Obama’s principles — including an estimated $1 trillion increase in federal government health subsidies over 10 years — will accelerate health-care inflation; slow our economy, cost every Texas resident an additional $4,265, and still leave about 30 million Americans uninsured.

But Laffer’s report also addresses a critical angle that has been largely missing from the debate so far: what effect these proposals would have on the various states. As his research found, a larger government role in health care would impose a huge budget burden on Texas.