Tom Daxon, author of a 2008 OCPA study on health care reform, spoke December 3 at an interim study at the state capitol on the feasibility of individual health-insurance tax relief.

The study was requested by state Rep. Jason Nelson (R-Oklahoma City). Rep. Nelson said he plans to introduce legislation in 2010 to create tax credits for individuals to give them greater power and options in purchasing health insurance.

"The federal government is taking the wrong approach to health care," Rep. Nelson said. "What we need is a more free-market system. Giving individuals tax relief on health-insurance purchases will lower the cost they pay for insurance and give them a wider range of options rather than just insurance through their employer or through a government entity."

Mr. Daxon, author of OCPA's "Oklahoma Comprehensive Health Independence Plan," urged lawmakers to support a tax-credit plan. Regardless of what happens with ObamaCare, Daxon said, employers are going to be under increased pressure that will likely result in higher deductibles and lower quality of health-care coverage. Giving individuals more power to buy their insurance outside of what their employer offers is good policy, he said.