The Obama administration and Democrats in Congress have put the United States on course to a government-run healthcare system that infringes on personal freedom, violates states' rights, will ration medical care and could potentially bankrupt our country.

We can do better. Congress needs to repeal Obamacare and enact free-market reforms that will preserve our freedom and drive down the costs that are breaking both government and business budgets.

For example:

• Right now, we use the tax code to encourage companies to offer health insurance as an employment benefit. We should instead use a tax deduction to encourage individuals to buy their own insurance. That would increase competition among insurers, helping hold prices down. It would let people make more rational decisions about the amount of insurance they buy. And with a personal tax deduction, people wouldn't lose their insurance when they change jobs.
• Federal policy should also encourage individuals to buy high-deductible policies and to establish health savings accounts. HSAs serve two purposes: They help people build up a cushion to help with medical expenses; and they introduce a greater level of price awareness among healthcare consumers. People can't make smart decisions about healthcare when the price is camouflaged by employer-paid premiums and low-deductible insurance policies.
• In terms of providing relief, government should focus tax dollars on hard cases -- people who have been denied coverage for pre-existing conditions. But state governments have much more experience in establishing high-risk insurance pools, for workers' compensation and high-risk auto insurance, for example. Washington should encourage states to provide such healthcare coverage as it has traditionally done, through grants and other incentives.

Fixing what's wrong with healthcare does not require a $2.5 trillion solution enforced by the IRS. We need to let the market work, make people responsible for their own insurance, and restore Americans' freedom to decide for themselves whether and how much insurance to buy.