Per economics Professor Martin Feldstein(1) there are three problems with the American health-care system:
1. Health-care costs are rising much faster than our incomes.
2. More than 15 percent of the population has neither private nor public insurance.
3. The high cost of health care can lead to personal bankruptcy, even for families that do have health insurance.
None of the bills that Congress is attempting to reconcile solve these problems. Their mandates will force Private Insurance to raise their rates or go bankrupt. The various taxes to pay for them will finish bankrupting the rest of us. In the rush to pass “something”, little research has been done into current free market solutions that are working.
Consider the following:
1. Direct Primary Care Practices, such as Qliance in Seattle(2), which operate outside of health insurance. Imagine; they can offer complete primary care much cheaper than the cost of health insurance plans alone; no co-pays, no maximums etc., just a flat, all inclusive, monthly fee, as little as $49.00! They can do this because they do not have the administrative costs of dealing with health insurance plans.
Their patients can use health savings accounts for such things as an MRI or a Colonoscopy. They can also buy a catastrophic health policy, and they will still pay less than those with employer subsidized complete health insurance.
Patients who are uninsured can, at least, get basic care at a very reasonable rate.
For these reasons, Direct Primary Care Practices are spreading across the country. In South Carolina we have Access Health Care.
2. Integrated Care models such as The Mayo Clinic, Kaiser Permanente, and the Palo Alto Medical Foundation that have replaced the fee for service model. They achieve better care at lower cost.
3. Innovative insurance plans, such as those of the State of California, The University of California, and Stanford. These plans offer a choice of several plans, but only pay for the cheapest.
4. Pre-tax Health Savings Accounts, which many people with serious illnesses use to manage their disease.
The bills being considered would put all of these practices out of business. This would surely anger the millions who currently depend on them.
Congress has also not considered the following:
1. The high administrative costs of health care insurance and of government regulations are part of the problem. My doctors tell me are these are about 40% of their bottom line. All the current bills would double and quadruple those costs.
2. Medical liability is the second greatest cause of increased costs. What about tort reform? Look to Mississippi, Missouri, Texas and California for tort reform solutions. They just capped punitive damages.
3. If there are billions of dollars of fraud and waste in Medicare and Medicaid, solve those problems first. This is the true responsibility of government.
4. Every government dollar spent on health care requires $1.25 in tax dollars. Therefore the public option is the most expensive.
5. Healthcare insurance tied to employers is not portable, and creates many problems. Give individuals the same $5000 tax break as employers and let them own their own policy.
6. Health Insurance Companies have only a 3 to 5 percent profit margin(3). Without the access to the large pools that nationwide competition would provide, they cannot cover everything for everyone. If you mandate it, they will go bankrupt. The states can work together to standardize requirements.
7. Innovative ideas such as Professor Feldstein’s elegant solution, which would solve all three problems; without involving the Government in the delivery or rationing of healthcare, without increasing the National Debt, or requiring taxes to be raised.(1)
8. If there are 20 million core uninsured, we could give each of them $10,000 per year for only $200 billion. We don’t need to spend trillions!
The only reason to pass Health Reform legislation based on the models Congress is considering is to intentionally further our march toward total government control of every aspect of our lives and total destruction of the dollar and our economy. Why would you do that?
We are demanding you vote “No” to the boondoggle bill that is being created, then do your homework and create legislation that will actually solve the problems.
Remember, the American people are doing their homework, and they are watching you. There are millions of people who are becoming politically active for the first time. We are joining together and forming independent networks whose main purposes are: fiscal responsibility; defense of the Constitution; and the defeat of any members of Congress who take us further down this insane path.
1. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/27/AR2009072701905.html
2. http://www.qliance.com/
3. http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/52745
Showing posts with label HSA'S. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HSA'S. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
WHAT I DO AND DO'T WANT TO SEE IN A HEALTH CARE REFORM BILL
The following ideas have all been discussed by so many sources, I do not know who originated them, and therefore to whom to credit them. However, they seem good to me.
1. Language to the effect that any “Comparative Effectiveness” Information will be advisory only. No rationing.
2. Allow Health Insurance companies to compete Nationwide.
3. No mandates to Health Insurance companies, without changing restrictions that limit their ability to be competitive.
4. No price fixing.
5. Language that excludes illegal immigrants from free health insurance. (Immigration reform is a whole other issue that we have to solve.)
6. Tort reform – Just cap punitive damages!
7. Make sure the bill is “revenue neutral” for the States as well as the Federal budget.
8. Allow the insurance to be separated from employers while, at the same time, allowing individuals, small businesses and other self insurers to take part in large pools in order to lower their costs.
9. No extra audits on self insurers.
10. No employer mandate.
11. Encourage groups of providers, like Qliance in Seattle, who will provide basic care at much lower prices, in exchange for not filing for payment through health insurance. Perhaps with tax breaks. Remove laws that prohibit them setting their prices lower than a preset minimum.
12. Allow insurance companies to provide policies that cover major medical or catastrophic care only, not basic care.
13. Expand HSA’s, and allow them to remain active indefinitely, with no penalties. Perhaps even allow them to move unused funds from an HSA to an IRA after age 65. This way, families could use HSA savings for basic care, and purchase catastrophic insurance as described in number 10. This would also cut down on elective and unessential procedures, since people will think twice when they have to pay. This could also be an option for Medicare recipients, for their supplemental policies, or Medicare Advantage plans.
14. No Gateway or Exchange with Government strings attached. I would rather trust The Better Business Bureau, Insurance agents, recommendations from customers and health care providers or even the Internet to find insurance.
15. For those with pre-existing conditions, allow high risk pools.
16. For those who still cannot afford health care insurance, expand Medicaid, perhaps on a sliding scale. Right now, there are 10 to 17 million legal residents, who want coverage, but can’t afford it. In 2008 Congress spent 17.2 billion on earmarks, defending the practice by saying that this amount is miniscule compared to the overall budget, only a very small percentage. With this “miniscule” amount, they could have given $1,000 to each of the above toward insurance. With 170 billion, they could have each been given $10,000. Clearly, we can take care of these people without a new multi- trillion dollar entitlement!
17. If people choose to accept an Employer Group Plan and then leave their job, make sure they have the option to keep their insurance with the plan’s provider, at an individual rate, with no increases for “preconditions”.
18. Give doctors and Hospitals tax incentives to maintain free clinics for the poor.
19. Give wealthy taxpayers back the charitable contributions tax deduction for donations to these clinics and other providers giving free care.
20. Give persons who purchase individual health insurance a tax deduction similar to that given to employers who offer group health insurance to their employees.
21. NO FEDERAL HEALTH BOARD!
22. NO PUBLIC OPTION! NO TRIGGER!
Like most Americans, I believe that, if we put our heads together, we can solve most of the health care problems without further bankrupting the country, or trampling on the people’s rights.
1. Language to the effect that any “Comparative Effectiveness” Information will be advisory only. No rationing.
2. Allow Health Insurance companies to compete Nationwide.
3. No mandates to Health Insurance companies, without changing restrictions that limit their ability to be competitive.
4. No price fixing.
5. Language that excludes illegal immigrants from free health insurance. (Immigration reform is a whole other issue that we have to solve.)
6. Tort reform – Just cap punitive damages!
7. Make sure the bill is “revenue neutral” for the States as well as the Federal budget.
8. Allow the insurance to be separated from employers while, at the same time, allowing individuals, small businesses and other self insurers to take part in large pools in order to lower their costs.
9. No extra audits on self insurers.
10. No employer mandate.
11. Encourage groups of providers, like Qliance in Seattle, who will provide basic care at much lower prices, in exchange for not filing for payment through health insurance. Perhaps with tax breaks. Remove laws that prohibit them setting their prices lower than a preset minimum.
12. Allow insurance companies to provide policies that cover major medical or catastrophic care only, not basic care.
13. Expand HSA’s, and allow them to remain active indefinitely, with no penalties. Perhaps even allow them to move unused funds from an HSA to an IRA after age 65. This way, families could use HSA savings for basic care, and purchase catastrophic insurance as described in number 10. This would also cut down on elective and unessential procedures, since people will think twice when they have to pay. This could also be an option for Medicare recipients, for their supplemental policies, or Medicare Advantage plans.
14. No Gateway or Exchange with Government strings attached. I would rather trust The Better Business Bureau, Insurance agents, recommendations from customers and health care providers or even the Internet to find insurance.
15. For those with pre-existing conditions, allow high risk pools.
16. For those who still cannot afford health care insurance, expand Medicaid, perhaps on a sliding scale. Right now, there are 10 to 17 million legal residents, who want coverage, but can’t afford it. In 2008 Congress spent 17.2 billion on earmarks, defending the practice by saying that this amount is miniscule compared to the overall budget, only a very small percentage. With this “miniscule” amount, they could have given $1,000 to each of the above toward insurance. With 170 billion, they could have each been given $10,000. Clearly, we can take care of these people without a new multi- trillion dollar entitlement!
17. If people choose to accept an Employer Group Plan and then leave their job, make sure they have the option to keep their insurance with the plan’s provider, at an individual rate, with no increases for “preconditions”.
18. Give doctors and Hospitals tax incentives to maintain free clinics for the poor.
19. Give wealthy taxpayers back the charitable contributions tax deduction for donations to these clinics and other providers giving free care.
20. Give persons who purchase individual health insurance a tax deduction similar to that given to employers who offer group health insurance to their employees.
21. NO FEDERAL HEALTH BOARD!
22. NO PUBLIC OPTION! NO TRIGGER!
Like most Americans, I believe that, if we put our heads together, we can solve most of the health care problems without further bankrupting the country, or trampling on the people’s rights.
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