Posted on 08/18/2009 6:21:48 AM PDT by bmweezer
With President Obama's dream of a single-payer healthcare system going down in flames, it is now time for our elected leaders to look at the system again, with a goal of providing a better overall healthcare system for all. While those of us on the right continue to attend town hall meetings to let our voices be heard (and they have been) to kill socialized medicine, that does not discount the very fact that some reform is necessary. However, responsible reform is what is needed, not the pie-in-the-sky plan sponsored by the nation’s liberal leaders.
In a nation such as ours, no one should be without quality health care, but there are ways to achieve this through consensus, rather than by ramming down our throats a Washington, D.C.-centered plan. Rather than focusing on a full government takeover, our election leaders should take the time to figure what works and what doesn't and concentrate on the latter, without destroying the former.
Most Americans are very happy with their current health care plan, with most getting their coverage through a combination of employer-sponsored insurance with employee co-pays and co-shares thrown in to absorb some of the costs. The overall employee costs can be deducted for tax purposes, although for most Americans, the amount of money deductable is far smaller than the standard tax deduction. American’s biggest complaint seems to be the shell game involved with how much is covered and at what cost, which is confusing to figure out at best. For employers, the biggest headache is naturally the above-inflation rate hikes that come each year, which drain an employer’s ability to invest in their company, hand out deserving raises to employees, and their inability in some cases, of hiring new employees.
For those Americans without health insurance coverage, the situation is far different depending on the circumstance. Despite the fact that the White House and its surrogates continue to throw out the “40 million Americans are without healthcare” number, the real number is actually far less, when one looks at the specifics. First, nearly ten million of those individuals are in fact, not Americans, but undocumented workers that live in this country without citizenship but with the social benefits of living here. Short of throwing these individuals out of this country as part of an overall immigration overhaul, these individuals should be required to absorb the costs of the services in which they are given every time they head to the emergency room for minor and major healthcare issues.
Another twenty million Americans by some estimates, have the opportunity to purchase or join an employer-sponsored plan, but choose not to. Most of these individuals are new to the workforce, do not have families or see no need to spend dollars on a health care card that they feel they will never use. Of these, some are between jobs and rather than use the COPRA plan (which is very expensive), they buy nothing. Of course, accidents happen and when they do, just like with the illegals, we take on the costs of their emergency care.
Finally, we are left with nearly ten million Americans that want healthcare, but either have no access to it or cannot afford the costs. These Americans work, but simply cannot find a way of spending any of their resources on a healthcare package, or thanks to preexisting conditions, cannot find a plan that will take them.
The pattern here is simple: there are a lot of Americans in this country that cannot use preventive care, but often times swamp our emergency room resources when necessary, which causes all Americans to absorb these costs and thereafter pay higher premiums and co-pays.
Rather than providing government-sponsored healthcare, which would completely destroy the healthcare system that most Americans are happy with, Congress and the President should initiate a two-part plan to assist those Americans that are struggling.
First, a new tax system should be put into place that would mean true tax advantages to those that have healthcare coverage. In other words, give people a tax advantage to purchasing health care, making the decision to not purchase coverage unworkable. Through a combination of health savings accounts, tax benefits to the purchasing of health care and perhaps the end of “free” emergency room care for those without healthcare, costs could come down and the number of uninsured would drop. Without the “free” care, the undocumented would also have to purchase a plan as well.
Also, allow insurance companies to compete for business nationally, rather than be regional-based. By cutting down on the many state requirements that make national competition unworkable, competition will thrive and with competition comes lower costs. By eliminating the many state requirements, limits imposed by preexisting conditions would also lessen, which would help many Americans.
In this writer’s opinion, there is nothing wrong with a government-mandate that all Americans have healthcare coverage. However, there are ways that we can achieve this that doesn’t lessen competition and does indeed lower costs. Of course, whether our elected leaders recognize this, is a different story. Most likely, responsible action can only be achieve though the election of new representatives in Washington, D.C.
Ted Tally is a writer living in Las Vegas. He should not be confused with the Academy-Award winning screen-writer by the same name.
Why not just make COBRA permanent? If you lose your job, you get to keep the insurance you had, as long as you are willing to pay for it, until you get new coverage through a new job or you qualify for Medicare. Seems pretty simple, and it would eliminate the thing that Americans fear most in our system: losing coverage when thy lose their job.
Moral hazard.
Incentives.
These are the things that liberals always leave out of almost every debate.
If we eliminate the “preexisting conditions” issue, on individual health plans, it is certain that many will refuse to buy coverage until they are sick, with the knowledge that they can not be turned down.
Every State has “high risk pools” or some way to deal with such people, already.
It is my experience that those who “work without a net” are often not willing to accept the consequences of refusing to buy insurance, once illness hits.
Government will only make this problem worse if we tell the public that they don't have to worry about having coverage until they “need” it.
No, I do not want mandates.
I want a free country where people can refuse insurance coverage, if they wish.
I also want a reasonable country that tells those, who refuse to buy insurance, that they must accept most of the risk, should something go wrong!
I wish we would quit using the word REFORM when talking about health care, and start using the word IMPROVE.
Reform implies we want to reshape or remake the system into something different.
Improve implies we want to keep the current system, but fix the parts that aren’t working.
Making COBRA permanent would be an improvement, not a reform.
Our health care system doesn’t need to be reformed, it has some areas that need to be improved.
I think a system like what is in the Medicare Supplement rules would be better than what I have heard, so far:
When you drop or lose your group insurance coverage, you have 63 days to sign up for a Medicare Supplement, with no medical questions, “guaranteed issue”.
Again, the biggest problem I see is that government will probably make matters worse by encouraging bad behavior, if the public thinks that they no longer are at risk for their uninsured medical costs.
Those g****ed Republicans with their racist bile, again! Such haters, they should be lined up against a wall and forced to listen to all of George Bushs’ speeches in an endless loop until they request waterboarding as “mercy torture”.
by Ted Tally
“With President Obama’s dream of a single-payer healthcare system going down in flames...”
See, that’s racist. A clear reference to the riots in the 60’s.
“....it is now time....”
that’s racist, only white people can afford watches.
“...for our elected leaders to look at the system again, with a goal of providing.....”
racist.
“...a better...”
racist, elitist scum
“..overall healthcare system for all. While those of us...”
racist BS, some oil company sent him out there
“...on the right continue .....”
also racist, they are so predictable and consistent
“....to attend town....”
racist. Black people live in villages.
“....hall meetings to let our voices be heard (and they have been) to kill....”
do I have to even say it? Never mind. I will. Racist.
“....socialized medicine, that does not discount...”
Racist. Only white people pay full price because since the 1700’s blacks have had to do with less.
“...the very fact...”
There it is again. Only racist white people use facts.
“...that some reform is necessary. However, responsible reform is what is needed, not the pie-....”
Can you honestly get more racist than that?
“....in-the-sky....”
Ever since the Tuskegee Airmen flew missions in WW2, whites have been trying to prevent blacks from flying. Racist.
“....plan sponsored by the nation’s liberal leaders.
One paragraph, one solid dozen clear racist statements. Pardon me while I boil with rage and digust.
Many people’s unemployment barely pays their health care even if they were allowed to keep it.
A subsidy to unemployment to help defray the cost would be expensive, but not near as expensive as the debacle we are viewing coming down the line.
The feds are now subsidizing cobra payments for up to 18 months,,in the stimulus package.
What is needed is for the government to totally get out of the health insurance business and require the insurance companies to offer a range of plans, starting with catastrophic coverage only with endorsements that may be selected according to need and ability or desire to pay.
With competition across state lines.
Identical to our auto insurance plans.
The consumer should pay for drugs, physicals, minor stuff like trips to the doctor or emergency ward for minor injuries unless there is an endorsement for those conditions.
Your auto insurance does not pay for flat tires. Neither should your health insurance pay for fixed flats.
A reduction in payroll tax would allow the consumer to purchase this insurance.
As for those on medicare already, I have no idea how to fix that problem other than to bounce those on medicare based on their tax level. In other words, those in upper tax brackets would be bounced and forced to purchase their own.
Those below those brackets would continue to be covered until they are dead.
Covering those that would remain on medicare would be expensive because the payroll tax would end. However I suspect that the deficit would be less than what it will be under our present system.
The one remaining problem: None one has the balls to even discuss, much less implement any meaningful change. "me too, better" is the cry of the rino.
Example of how bad COPRA is...
I lost my job two years ago and to purchase through COPRA the family plan was $1200 a month. From the same insurance carrier I quoted out THE SAME PLAN and the cost was $450/month. When the insurance carrier knew that I was able to take COPRA they denied me coverage at the lower cost. COPRA isn’t always good, especially when it limits ones ability to get something else.
The hard part of having a (true) liberal society
is simply letting those who make bad choices
have to deal with the consequences of those choices.
You can’t have liberty without unfortunate situations.
Prov 14:4 (para) Where you have no oxen, you have no ox poop - but from the strength of an ox comes an abundant harvest.
(You have to take the bad with the good.)
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