Joe Biden Wants to Make Health Care “Secure for All.” He Should Just Make It Free.

In keeping with the established tradition of inaugural addresses, Joe Biden’s speech on Wednesday was heavy on adornment and light on specifics — closer to high mass than a press conference or policy brief. One line, however, provided a somewhat ominous clue as to how the new administration expects to move on a critical policy area, namely health care reform: “We can reward work, rebuild the middle class,” Biden declared from atop the inaugural platform, “and make health care secure for all.”

As anyone who has followed the broader health...