David Boaz, a leading libertarian thinker and the driving force behind the Cato Institute for more than four decades, lost his battle with cancer on June 7 at the age of 70.
Boaz was a pioneer of the health savings account concept, says John Goodman, co-publisher of Health Care News and founder of the Goodman Institute for Public Policy Research.
“David commissioned Patient Power with a $5,000 grant to the National Center for Policy Analysis in the late 1980s,” wrote Goodman on the Goodman Institute Health Blog. “After I didn’t deliver, he persisted—even upping the offer to $50,000. I got Gerry Musgrave to be the coauthor and we finally produced it.”
The book makes the case for a competitive market in which consumers control their health care spending, rather than a government bureaucracy.
“Patient Power introduced the concept of Health Savings Accounts to the public policy community,” wrote Goodman. “It shaped the way Newt Gingrich, Paul Ryan, Sean Hannity, and many others thought about health care.”
‘Sharp Intellect’
Boaz gravitated to politics and public policy in high school, according to his obituary. He was known for his “sharp intellect,” a spelling bee champ, class valedictorian, and National Merit Scholar. Boaz was drawn to libertarian ideas after reading Henry Hazlitt’s Economics in One Lesson.
Goodman singled out a particular insight Boaz wrote: “You learn the essence of libertarianism in kindergarten. Don’t hit other people, don’t take their stuff, and keep your promises.”
Boaz published a condensed version of Patient Power around the time “Hillarycare” was being debated. Some 300,000 copies were distributed.
“Without David’s persistence, Health Savings Accounts might never have become a reality. Ditto for the whole notion of consumer-driven health care,” wrote Goodman. “He will be missed.”
The Cato Legacy
Boaz joined the Libertarian Party almost immediately after graduating from Vanderbilt University in 1975. Boaz co-managed the gubernatorial campaign of Ed Clark in California and later became his research director when Clark became the Libertarian nominee for president in 1980.
In 1981, Boaz joined Ed Crane to get Cato off the ground as a leading policy organization to advance libertarian ideas. Boaz became a national commentator who was frequently quoted in leading news outlets.
Health Care Wisdom
In 2009, Boaz discussed the “strings” connected to the Obamacare bill on KDKA’s The Fred Honsberger Show. Boaz was struck by the imposition of a fine for not buying health insurance.
“Eventually, all criminal penalties can land you in jail,” Boaz told the host. In the bill, “there are all kinds of things like that. It is the first time we ever told people (you) must buy a consumer product simply because you live in the United States.”
Asked about how such a law complies with the U.S. Constitution, Boaz said the Constitution doesn’t stop the government. “Look in Article One, Section 8 and it lists the things we set up the government to do. It doesn’t say education, retirement, or health care.”
AnneMarie Schieber (amschieber@heartland.org) is the managing editor of Health Care News.
Photo courtesy of the Cato Institute