Reforming Health Care : Policy over Rhetoric

Health Insurance
We’ve forgotten two things in this country (listed in order of priority)

1) Life is precious. It is the most valuable thing we have, and we should be willing to do anything we can to protect it (don’t go all abortion on me here, although one could argue that this is one issue that has contributed to the devaluing of life). It’s expensive to maintain life, especially under circumstances when life is in jeopardy. At those times we should be thankful that there are options available, and realize that what we’re willing to pay for something is a measure of its worth to us.

2) We’ve gotten used to the idea of someone else paying for our health care. Do you see a list of services and costs at the doctor’s office? No, you don’t. Because you don’t care; someone else is paying for it.

The best way to reform the system is to make consumers responsible for their costs.

a) Expand availability and maximums for health care FSAs. Allow FSAs to be used to purchase insurance as well as pay for health care.

b) Remove employer mandates. This will inject competition into the insurance marketplace by encouraging consumers to purchase their own insurance at a cost known to them. Employers should be encouraged to add to employees’ salaries the cost of their share of whatever insurance they had provided to their employees to offset the cost of insurance.

c) Remove coverage mandates. This will allow consumers to purchase those products that they actually need. People could purchase catastrophic care insurance and pay for their own preventative care, or they could purchase a low-deductible full-service plan, or something in between.

d) Encourage cost to become part of the doctor/patient conversation. Providers should make cost information more available to their customers so they can make better-informed decisions.

e) Require a part of SS, Medicare, Disability, Welfare checks to be placed in an FSA allowing coverage to the millions that are not able to currently have coverage. If this requires an increase in the amount given it will still be cheaper than the other proposed methods.

f) Those having portions taken out of checks from point E, could be placed in a government handled or contracted FSA program allowing it to be well monitored and keeping with the requirement.

There is no need to punish those already receiving health care on their own or choosing not to carry health care simply to try and fix a much smaller sector of society. If you focus on that sector you can accomplish more than if you try and make a vague and sweeping legislation that will cost more and negatively effect others.