An op-ed in the Springfield News-Leader explains how Missouri’s health care system has made life difficult for independent physicians — until now:

The restrictions placed on patients by their insurance companies are remarkable. Even many patients with the benefits of our present universal health coverage, Medicare, have signed over those rights to managed-care plans that restrict their choice of physicians. As independent physicians, we have been locked out of "the system" in Springfield.

Dr. Arnold, the author, suggests that we need a new law requiring insurance providers to accept any physician willing to abide by their contracts. However, help is already on the way. As Show-Me Institute Vice President Jason Hannasch writes in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, newly enacted health insurance reform will give Missourians greater control over their health care:

Rebecca Bruchhauser, our director of development, says her HSA has made a big difference in her health care decisions.

"Participating in a consumer-driven plan has allowed me to be more involved in my health care," she said. "I’ve chosen new health care providers in order to benefit from greater affordability and quality. " [...]

The new HSA legislation makes the benefits of patient choice in health care available to state employees, small businesses and many who were previously uninsured.

As more Missourians reap the benefits of HSAs, our state’s health care system will become more responsive to consumers’ needs.