New County Health Study Reinforces Need for Federalism in Health Reform
Marguerite Bowling /
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute just released a new report that exposes the diversity of health care across the country on a county-by-county basis. What’s striking about the interactive report is the high level of variance found in health care for counties within a single state.
For example, Montgomery and Howard counties ranked in the top slots in Maryland while Baltimore City and Allegany County trailed at the bottom. “In health care, one size does not fit all,” said Dr. Donald Shell, the health officer for the Prince George’s County Health Department, during a discussion of the report findings.
No truer words could be spoken. However, Congress has been trying to enact a one-size-fits-all measure for the past year with Obamacare, which would indiscriminately impose nationalized health requirements on counties. As Heritage health policy expert Stuart Butler has noted, Congress should be examining modest adjustments to the health care system and allowing states to take the lead in experimenting with new reform models: (more…)