Americans want price transparency and competition in the health sector. They said they wanted to see performance ratings for doctors and hospitals as well as openly published prices for health services – both tools that would allow the patient to compare and choose. We have these for other service industries, including hotels and restaurants. The Internet makes it quick and easy for people to report and rate their experiences, or to compare costs before selecting a provider.

A majority – 71 percent – also said they want competition in the insurance market. Specifically, they want to be able to buy coverage across state lines. Ballooning numbers of coverage mandates have driven up the cost of care and trapped consumers, who are required to purchase policies in their own states. The latest statistics from eHealth, Inc., which operates eHealthInsurance.com, show average monthly premiums in 2007 for individual insurance plans ranging from $83 in North Dakota to $388 for New York residents. That’s a difference of $3,660 per year.

As one might guess, the study showed most Americans are enthusiastic about covering the uninsured, and many agree with getting the government involved in that process. But that enthusiasm vanished when higher taxes were mentioned.

A resounding 57 percent said no, they would not be “willing to pay more in taxes to cover the uninsured.” That finding jibed with a September survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, where a total of 57 percent said it was “most important” or “very important” that a new “health care proposal not raise taxes.”

The Council for Excellence in Government took note of a bias against government control.

“It’s noteworthy that one proposal for expanding coverage for the uninsured – allowing anyone to buy Medicare coverage at group rates, regardless of age – gets significantly less strong agreement than any other policy prescription surveyed,” the CEG study said. “This is consistent with Gallup poll results over many years which show that the public has a preference for maintaining a system based on private insurance rather than a government-run health care system.”

The American people are demanding competition and patient control of their health care. They want private insurance options, and they don’t want tax hikes. The new Congress must listen. And before embarking on a massive overhaul, elected officials also must learn what people like about their care, instead of insisting that everything is broken.