what is the best way to to ensure access to high quality medical care while controlling cost at the same time?

Question

or is it possible to think in those terms?

Answer 1

That is easy.

1
Get rid of government invasiveness.
Single payer system - my behind.

Right now, Medicare regulations are over 130,000 pages long. You read that correctly. It is absolutely impossible to hold down the cost of anything if there are 130,000 pages of rules to follow.

2
Stop having government mandates on what insurance companies must offer. It runs up the cost of premiums by forcing people to buy coverage they do not want or need.

3
Medical insurance needs to be like car insurance. Image if you had to fill out insurance forms every time you purchased gas, changed the oil, and bought tires. What an unnecessary, time consuming, pain in the butt = paperwork = higher cost. There is no reason for regular doctor visits and blood work to be covered by insurance. One simple check upfront. Premiums would drop.

4
Freedom is not bad.
Poor people would not die in the streets.
Old people would not suffer needlessly.
.

Answer 2

Don' fool yourself into believing a single payer/government sponsored system can work. National health is a joke. I've lived in countries where this exists and the quality of care is marginal. Anyone with money will opt away from national health and pay for a private plan in these countries. If you want to make something more efficient and cost effective you DON'T turn it over to the government. Please people, when will you ever learn! Government can not be the answer to every problem a society faces.

Answer 3

A Single Payer System. Everyone would like to have the US Federal Governments Employee Benefit Health Plan. It is fantastic, but not "cheap". But if we take level of service down a notch, and cover the basics, like a version of Medicare, less overhead than having hundreds of insurance companies duplicating services, we could probably finance it. We would not be able to afford things like in vitro for every woman or transplants for the aged or infirm. Triage would be an everyday word. But, there would be access to a doctor or PA for everyone.

Answer 4

Kaiser Permanente

Answer 5

This is the impossible dream of everyone....and every government throughout the world.