There is a swirl of "information" flying around about potential reform of the United States' health care system. Sorting through the propaganda, talking points, and spin, there are some things about the current system and the proposed reforms that are irrefutable.
First: The current system is broken for many reasons. One of those reasons is not problem with delivery of quality care. Instead, the reason the current system is broken is due to the rising cost of care and obligations the government has to recipients of government run medicaid and medicare.
Second: Any system in which the connection between the cost of service and the delivery of service is severed is doomed to failure. This is why the current system of government and private insurance is so broken. There is no recognition of usage cost. If a doctor's office visit only costs a $ 10 co-pay or is free, then what the heck, stop in just to see what the Doc has to say. Any product in any system that is priced well below fair market value will be over used. Any system in which there is no incentive to optimize and control costs will see run away costs - like the current system. Therefore any "reform" that makes health care appear "free" will crash and burn.
Third: There is no way to force health care coverage for 47M uninsured Americans without dramatic tax increases to pay for those newly covered with health care. Any suggestion otherwise is pure folly at best and outright deception at worst.
Fourth: Absent political agendas, the fix for health care coverage is not particularly daunting nor difficult.
Fifth: A "public option" for health care where the government both runs the option and sets the rules for the market in which that "option" operates will drive private players out of the market.
None of these concepts are difficult to grasp. All of these are difficult if not impossible to refute. It would be refreshing to see someone on Capitol Hill embrace the reality of our health care situation and propose a responsible reform plan that solves the problem rather than scratching political backs or serving failed political dogma.
BTW - I just read where car dealers are hung out to dry waiting for their money from Uncle Sam's cash-for-clunkers program. These dealers are essentially floating the Feds an interest free loan and have no clue when payments will be dispersed nor when the paperwork nightmare will end. The government cannot run a tiny, insignificant program like cash for clunkers, but there are those who would trust Washington to run health care....you have got to be kidding me. A tried and true phrase describes many on Capitol Hill..."those who could not find their asses with both hands and a map"....and these are the people we want running health care? I want them to go home and stay there, so they don't screw up the tiny flickers of economic recovery that may be taking hold.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Health Care Reform that Doesn't Suck - Part II
Let's be clear on one thing before we get started...the house bill on health care reform...it sucks. (Also the vague descriptions of health care that Obama is trying desperately to shove down Americans throats...that "plan" sucks as well.) Face it, any bill over 1,000 pages is likely to suck, and this one does, royally.
Let's fix health care....
Tort reform. Attorneys filing medical malpractice suits...loser pays. If the doc loses, he/she pays. If the filing attorney loses, he pays court and defense costs. Frivolous law suits just ended and billions of dollars of wasteful insurance premiums for malpractice insurance just cut costs of service. I told you this really isn't that hard of a problem.
Inter-state restrictions on buying health care insurance are gone. Anyone or any company can buy a coverage from any licensed firm. Competition just went up and prices just went down - for everyone.
A huge problem in the current system is a total disconnect between delivery of service and cost of service. A public option, by the way makes this problem worse. Increase the size, access, and tax benefits of personal savings accounts.
I am going to take some of the money I just saved and create a low income credit for those who cannot afford insurance to go buy the coverage that best meets their needs. Wait! I just saved more money here because these folks will no longer use the emergency room for primary care. BTW, illegals don't get the benefit. I can solve that problem now too while I have a minute. I am going to totally shut down the boarder and stop illegal crossings. However recognize that there are two ends to a funnel and that having to wait years for adjudication of a legal immigrant request is ridiculous. Therefore all applications for visas will be adjudicated with a yes/no decision within 120 days of the application. There, now those coming here are here legally and can participate in the wonders of a capitalist society. Illegals already here are sent home never to return if they commit a crime. Those here working and living in America can begin a process of becoming legal, but will have to pay a fine. Problem solved.
How many pages under 1,000 is this? We don't need some idiotic public insurance option, please, just use your head.
Just to close, Nancy Pelosi, who may be the stupidest member of Congress ever, and there is stiff competition for that distinction, said that they wanted to remove the insurance companies from the relationship between patients and doctors? Really? And replace them with what? The federal government? Unless we are going totally fee-for-service, then someone or some thing is going to be in between you and your doctor. Would you rather that "thing" be an insurance company or the federal government...which mental giants like Pelosi in positions of leadership.
Let's fix health care....
Tort reform. Attorneys filing medical malpractice suits...loser pays. If the doc loses, he/she pays. If the filing attorney loses, he pays court and defense costs. Frivolous law suits just ended and billions of dollars of wasteful insurance premiums for malpractice insurance just cut costs of service. I told you this really isn't that hard of a problem.
Inter-state restrictions on buying health care insurance are gone. Anyone or any company can buy a coverage from any licensed firm. Competition just went up and prices just went down - for everyone.
A huge problem in the current system is a total disconnect between delivery of service and cost of service. A public option, by the way makes this problem worse. Increase the size, access, and tax benefits of personal savings accounts.
I am going to take some of the money I just saved and create a low income credit for those who cannot afford insurance to go buy the coverage that best meets their needs. Wait! I just saved more money here because these folks will no longer use the emergency room for primary care. BTW, illegals don't get the benefit. I can solve that problem now too while I have a minute. I am going to totally shut down the boarder and stop illegal crossings. However recognize that there are two ends to a funnel and that having to wait years for adjudication of a legal immigrant request is ridiculous. Therefore all applications for visas will be adjudicated with a yes/no decision within 120 days of the application. There, now those coming here are here legally and can participate in the wonders of a capitalist society. Illegals already here are sent home never to return if they commit a crime. Those here working and living in America can begin a process of becoming legal, but will have to pay a fine. Problem solved.
How many pages under 1,000 is this? We don't need some idiotic public insurance option, please, just use your head.
Just to close, Nancy Pelosi, who may be the stupidest member of Congress ever, and there is stiff competition for that distinction, said that they wanted to remove the insurance companies from the relationship between patients and doctors? Really? And replace them with what? The federal government? Unless we are going totally fee-for-service, then someone or some thing is going to be in between you and your doctor. Would you rather that "thing" be an insurance company or the federal government...which mental giants like Pelosi in positions of leadership.
Healthcare Reform that Doesn't Suck - Part I
Few if any in America feel that the current system of health care can survive and thrive over the long term. But let's be clear about a few things before we fix the majority of the problems...which really aren't that hard to fix.
First, let's agree that the quality of health care available in America is the best in the world. Very few Americans are heading to Canada, England, France, or Germany for the health care offered in those countries. Some very sick individuals will have to travel abroad to use cutting edge experimental treatments not approved by the slow and ultra conservative FDA. Seems like that can and should be part of any "fix" for America. However, far more Canadians and Brits are headed to the United States to use our health care system rather than participate in their own free systems. What does that tell you?
Second, let's agree that the ambulance chasing industry of blood sucking personal injury attorneys adds nothing to the health care system. In fact they are a tremendous drag on the system. An OB/GYN friend of mine has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in malpractice insurance over his career, despite never having been sued nor ever paying a claim. Who benefited from that money? Not the patients, not the doctors and staff. So any health care reform that does not address tort reform and take the jackpot chasing frivolous law suites out of the system is not a serious attempt at reform but is a political system of spoils for faithful donors.
Third, there are millions of uninsured people living in America. Many of them are young people who chose not to buy health insurance. Some are here illegally. Others are destitute and cannot afford insurance and need our help. Any reform that does not help the citizens who cannot help themselves is not viable reform.
Fourth, we cannot mandate coverage for an additional 45 million users of health care services without increasing supple proportionally. Without an equivalent increase in supply, vastly increased demand will overrun supply forcing a system of rationing.
Fifth, a public option to compete with private insurance is insanity. The government runs Social Security - it is now a giant ponzi scheme that will go broke. The government runs Medicare and Medicaid, both of which are going broke and have saddled the USA with trillions of unfunded obligations. The government runs Amtrack and the post office - both of which provide poor service and lose money annually. Get the picture? Additionally, if the government is competing with private health insurance firms, and the government gets to make and change the rules, who do you think will come out on top, despite their performance?
So let's fix the health care problems....okay? Coming in Part II
First, let's agree that the quality of health care available in America is the best in the world. Very few Americans are heading to Canada, England, France, or Germany for the health care offered in those countries. Some very sick individuals will have to travel abroad to use cutting edge experimental treatments not approved by the slow and ultra conservative FDA. Seems like that can and should be part of any "fix" for America. However, far more Canadians and Brits are headed to the United States to use our health care system rather than participate in their own free systems. What does that tell you?
Second, let's agree that the ambulance chasing industry of blood sucking personal injury attorneys adds nothing to the health care system. In fact they are a tremendous drag on the system. An OB/GYN friend of mine has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in malpractice insurance over his career, despite never having been sued nor ever paying a claim. Who benefited from that money? Not the patients, not the doctors and staff. So any health care reform that does not address tort reform and take the jackpot chasing frivolous law suites out of the system is not a serious attempt at reform but is a political system of spoils for faithful donors.
Third, there are millions of uninsured people living in America. Many of them are young people who chose not to buy health insurance. Some are here illegally. Others are destitute and cannot afford insurance and need our help. Any reform that does not help the citizens who cannot help themselves is not viable reform.
Fourth, we cannot mandate coverage for an additional 45 million users of health care services without increasing supple proportionally. Without an equivalent increase in supply, vastly increased demand will overrun supply forcing a system of rationing.
Fifth, a public option to compete with private insurance is insanity. The government runs Social Security - it is now a giant ponzi scheme that will go broke. The government runs Medicare and Medicaid, both of which are going broke and have saddled the USA with trillions of unfunded obligations. The government runs Amtrack and the post office - both of which provide poor service and lose money annually. Get the picture? Additionally, if the government is competing with private health insurance firms, and the government gets to make and change the rules, who do you think will come out on top, despite their performance?
So let's fix the health care problems....okay? Coming in Part II
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