Perhaps it's time, now that President Barack Obama's health-care reform plans are in jeopardy on Capitol Hill, to engage in some truly original thinking on the subject of how to provide affordable coverage for 300 million Americans. Enter Regina Herzlinger, a Harvard Business School professor who is the nation's leading advocate of consumer-driven health care.

Herzlinger argues that the U.S. shouldn't look to Great Britain or Canada as models for reform but rather to Switzerland, which manages to offer universal coverage for its population while retaining the right of individuals to select their level of care.

In Herzlinger's view, consumers should be able to craft and purchase their own health insurance coverage, which would be decoupled from employment benefits. Some Americans might choose to buy a Cadillac plan. Others could select a no-frills Chevy. But everyone, with the aid of tax breaks, would be required to purchase coverage; the poor would receive government subsidies to provide for basic care. Insurers could pool coverage for the least healthy, most expensive patients.

Herzlinger has three strong arguments on her side. One, the soaring cost of health care leaves American companies, which on average pay almost $10,000 a year per employee for insurance, at a disadvantage with foreign competitors. That fact costs Americans jobs and is forcing employers to reduce or eliminate insurance benefits. Two, empowering consumers to make more decisions about their health care offers an effective means of slowing the rise in costs. Three, Americans want to retain flexibility in their health care, which is a main reason why government-controlled models have gained little traction here.

The Swiss model isn't perfect. Rising costs are a problem there as well, but not to the extent they are in the United States. Critics also question whether Americans are savvy enough to sort through the complexities of the health care system. But as Herzlinger points out, consumers make many other important decisions — from where to send their children to college to what type of computer to buy — with overall sound results.

The key is to provide ample information, ensure reasonable flexibility and protect individual choice. It works reasonably well in every other sector of the economy. It might just work in health care.

REPRINTED FROM THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR.