If government at all levels federal and state would stop dictating coverage all this and more would be available. There would be ala carte policies available and people would buy as much coverage as they felt they needed or could afford.
But every special interest disease group has lobbied legislatures to include their pet condition as mandated coverage and pretty soon you can’t buy ala carte coverage.
The only thing government needs to regulate is basic fiduciary statutes as would be done for any insurance company.
And make premiums 100% tax deductible for those who buy insurance on the private market instead of from their employer.
“The only thing government needs to regulate is basic fiduciary statutes as would be done for any insurance company.”
That would be fine for higher income people.
But if lower income people are going to get federal money for federal subsidies, the federal government is not going to want to pay a $100/month subsidy for the “cable TV anti-depression plan” offered by Comcast with free vaccinations and one doctor visit annually.
As long as there is no federal penalty and coverage minimum, you could buy any coverage your state allows to be sold. You might also be able to buy coverage over the Internet from a foreign insurance company.
There are two major issues we are concerned with:
1. getting rid of the PPACA penalty
2. affordable coverage for those of modest incomes
If you can pay for your own coverage, issue 1 is your only problem.
We have to make progress on issue 2 too. Some of us have modest incomes.
It has to be understood that Republican leaning voters are a minority. We need to win votes from leftist-leaning voters by solving their problems.
To say successfully vote for a reduction in growth in Medicaid and then be tossed out of office in 2018 would actually get us no place but in the doghouse.
We have to steer the medical industrial complex to a less costly structure. It has to be done in modest steps that have little negative impact and strong positive impact.
“If government at all levels federal and state would stop dictating coverage all this and more would be available. There would be ala carte policies available and people would buy as much coverage as they felt they needed or could afford.”
You have described a big problem well.
The hospitalization could easily be broken apart:
EMTALA birthing
EMTALA physical, non-birthing
EMTALA mental
essential newborn congenital surgery
operative tumors
palliative cancer surgery
open fractures of major bones
closed fractures of major bones.
Except for the EMTALA mental&birthing and essential newborn congenital surgery, I’m pretty sure that I would want to buy coverage for all.
A person my age of 58 wouldn’t be paying much for EMTALA birthing or congenital surgery anyway.
And if I had severe mental problems, I certainly would not want a hospital hounding me for an unpaid $1,000 deductible.