A Possible Approach to a Federal System for Healthcare

I tend to think that a solution to the US healthcare crisis may very originate from the states, where competition for jobs and businesses would push this along^*.

As such, this raises the question of "health tourism" between the states, where people from one state would go to a state with more generous healthcare provisions.

It turns out that the EU is dealing with this problem right now:

European Union citizens will be able to receive most health care treatment anywhere in the 27-nation bloc without getting prior authorization under a long-awaited draft law published Wednesday.

Postponed for months because of fears in some countries of a large-scale increase in "health tourism," the plan could extend options available to EU citizens who live in countries where waiting lists are long.

But the entitlement applies only to procedures that are publicly funded in EU citizens' home states and reimbursement would be only up to the amount the procedure would cost in that country.

Obviously, there will be some bugs as this is implemented, but equally as obvious is the fact that by the time we get something here, the Europeans will have worked out those bugs, and we can benefit from their experience.

^*Once the Erisa preemption clause is repealed, anyway.