Purple Health Plan Focuses on Entitlement Reform

Boston University Economics Professor Laurence Kotlikoff has provided a conceptual alternative to Medicare, and he is seeking support of the new health care initiative in the form of endorsements of The Purple Health Plan.

Kotlikoff provides frequent commentary on the dire state of government finances in the United States.  Health care spending and Medicare are fundamental drivers of this fiscal distress, and Professor Kotlikoff is seeking consensus on viable alternatives to Medicare.

The Purple Health Plan seeks to cap the government's liability by turning the defined benefit Medicare program into a voucher-based defined contribution system.

Additional features of the proposed health plan include:

• Universal coverage through a basic health plan.
• A system that is largely driven by private incentives.
• Guaranteed issue.
• Medical malpractice reform.
• Individual risk adjustment.
• Elimination of the tax exclusion of employer health insurance premiums.

The elimination of the employer tax benefit is arguably the most challenging of the proposed features.

Kotlikoff is seeking support of The Purple Health Plan through online endorsements.  The endorsement page can be found by clicking here.