Good alternative proposal to a National Health?

Question

National healths are burdensome on taxpayers, but there are alternatives.

Insurance needs to be available to all at an affordable cost. The best way to accomplish this would be for the government to create a taxpayer group plan and leverage the cost savings available to corporate group plans

Insurance companies are allowed to pay less for medical procedures than persons without insurance. This practice should be outlawed. If doctors/hospitals are willing to take a reduced rate from an insurance company there is no understandable reason why anyone without insurance should pay more. This is a double pricing strategy and unacceptable.

Flexible Spending Accounts are a great idea, but contributions are only good for one calendar year. Amend this to allow contributions to grow and rollover yearly. Thus allowing people to build a medical nest egg in preparation for catastrophic illnesses and old age medical costs.

Haven't figured out what to about drug costs.

What say you?

paulisfree2004: I am not advocating government control or additional legislation regarding insurance companies. Merely a single payer program based on group plan philosophy. I do not owe any debt to Seniors, I owe them the same respect I extend to all. I did not create or enhance poverty. Veterans of which I am one have provided service to this country and yes we owe them a debt. As to free healthcare, another entitlement is not what we need in this country. You amuse me because you say government intervention is bad then propose a massive government program.

Answerman: While I have no love of insurance companies they are subject to constant frivolous litigation which rasies costs for all. I have made no specific diatribe against national health. I said it was burdensome on the taxpayers which it is. Additionally these systems are not as responsive or user friendly as the American health system.
http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=15034

Answer 1

Your concept is not a bad one with a couple of exceptions. Anything the government touches is massively inefficient, wasteful and usually costs way more than it should, which means it is a bureaucracy. Secondly the insurers who are spending millions to buy a seat in congress for democrats will never allow it.

I think you might be better to have a single company supported initially by taxes to compete with the others, in essence a non-profit, overseen by a group of business people who are popularly elected annually to insure no improprieties. This company would improve the competitive market as it does not have to produce a profit, only breakeven. It would be unfair to the others but since they have been unfair to us it would be a nice turn. The other insurers have written the rules, set the prices, done so with little or no competition and are totally supported in their efforts by democrat politicians.

Answer 2

Insurance company's are the illness, you will never reform medical care without eliminating the insurance company's profit from the mix. National health care is not as big of a burden as you make it out to be. Canadians pay for theirs through a national sales tax. I feel the insurance company's are organized crime and the health care industry is in crisis because of them. 45 million Americans have no access to affordable health care. You are right about 1 thing though, it is not fair for the medical profession to charge two different fee's depending on whether you have insurance. This must be stopped.

Answer 3

The problem here is that this is already possible without the government. Eliminate lawsuits where people think they are getting something free because the insurance pays for it. Eliminate the 17 tests and procedures doctors perform to tell me I have the flu. Eliminate fraud by instituting the death penalty for insurance fraud. Once these three things are enacted we might have a clear picture of the true costs, than we can consider eliminating insurance as a need.

Answer 4

Set up something similar without Blue cross and Shield Fing it up. Every legal resident would be given savings account to pay mandatory co-payment or percentage of fee with debit card system. All interest earned on money in savings account would be holder tax free. Motivation to shop for cheapest doctor and use services as infrequently as possible. Medicare would set up it's own payment system and pay fee doctors charged. To prevent collusion some price control might be needed but this would not be discounted. Restriction on class two drugs would be eliminated. Medicaid with all it's hundred of different titles would be eliminated, VA health care services would be eliminated. Program would monitor healt care providers, after each use user would be given survey to fill out. Those with consistent good comments would play less in mal-practice insurance set up and run by doctors. They would have to determine how many very serious mistakes would be allowed. Ones consistently getting negative comments would have mal-pratice premiums increase.

Answer 5

Put a limit on Trial Lawyers' lawsuit settlements.
That's why health care is so high.
Check out what John Edwards did to this country just so he could make his millions.

Even our great-great grand kids will be paying for what John Edwards did to us. How did anyone vote for this sleazy con-artist lawyer for VP?

Answer 6

The insurance companies already charge excessive preiums, governement intervention only leads to chaos, however we owe a debt to our seniors our vets and the impoversished childern. Set up a lottery and use all of its assets to provide free health care to all.

Answer 7

Make all doctors during their residency years work at free clinics for a year as practice under the watchful eye of a licensed doctor. That way, they gain experience, we get free health care, and maybe some of their student loans can be forgivien.

Answer 8

Sounds doable , but the liberals would never go for it .
They want the power it would give them , once they control everything , like they do the education system , WE are finished as a free country .