The Utah Foundation published a report that examines the current system and how to improve it. Utah lawmakers also recently heard from officials in Missouri, where a new law allows businesses to give workers a health-insurance stipend, allowing them to buy plans that better suit their needs.

Many Americans probably have little idea how we got here. The truth is health care in this country sort of evolved, but not without the hand of government. As David Blumenthal, M.D., outlined in The New England Journal of Medicine two years ago, the system is an outgrowth of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's decision not to pursue national health care during the Depression. That gave rise to private insurers eager to fill a market need.

When World War II started and the economy began to heat up, Washington restricted companies from raising wages. So instead, companies began competing for the best workers by offering enticing benefits, including health insurance. Later, the government decided not to tax employers' contributions to insurance as income.

And so, health insurance became something employers shopped for, negotiated with and provided. Eventually, we got a system where prices are out of control and insurance companies feel little incentive to expedite payment for a child's visit to the doctor.

I am convinced there is a better way. I just don't think we can take our time finding it.

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Jay Evensen is editor of the Deseret News editorial page. E-mail: even@desnews.com