According to Allan Hubbard, a close friend of President Bush, a businessman-turned-policy maker, and the "White House's lead pitchman on the president's health care proposals, he has found the solution for taming rising health costs. He is promoting Bush's proposals to provide bigger tax breaks for health savings accounts ... and make hospitals and doctors prices available to consumers.
Hubbard seeks to get the people to think about what they would be spending for healthcare, as they do when shopping for a car or gallon of milk.. Hubbard said, that when people use health care their think that it is free. He feels so because they're not insisting on knowing the price.Hubbard has managed to push health care to the top of the president's domestic agenda and is "aggressively pressing health industry groups and Congress for changes he says would make consumers more responsible for their spending.
His proposals however have raised criticism from Democrats who feel that the emphasis on HSAs does little to help the uninsured and it would favour the healthiest and wealthiest Americans. Some health care providers are also doubtful of Mr. Hubbard's push to publicize their prices and some economists feel that his approach to health care is overly simplified.
