Top 5 reasons healthcare in America is broken

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1. Illegal aliens. Yes, they show up at our emergency rooms and expect treatment. OK, so give them basic treatment while waiting for the INS to show up. After they are treated, deport them. Problem solved.

3. Private health plans. You say they should compete, but how do you compete with the government? They write the rules and define the standards, and will do so for their benefit, not the private sector. Competition is great, but only if the playing field is level and the referees are independent and unbiased. Obamacare will be neither.

The cost estimate of $1 Trillion is the lowest estimate that I have seen. Most estimates push the number far higher, and the government has never been very good at estimating costs. I fully expect the cost over the next decade to be closer to $10 Trillion than the number you cite. How will we pay for this? Higher taxes, of course.

Is our current system broken? Absolutely. If my car breaks down, I fix it. I don't throw it away and buy a new one that is way out of my price range. If my computer breaks, same thing. There have been plans available for many years on how to fix what we have that would result is huge cost savings at zero cost to the government and tax payer. How about we try some of those before we go out and buy a whole new system?

Put me in charge, and I would do the following:

1. Tort reform. This requires no explanation.

2. Insurance reform. Remove insurance from the employers and give it back to the people. Allow groups like the AARP, NRA, etc, to offer group plans. Make health insurance tax deductible. Allow people to self insure. In other words, make insurance competitive again.

3. Set standards for diagnosis and care. Set up an independent commission of health care providers who will define best practices. If you go to the doctor and complain about XYZ, there should be a standard procedure for diagnosis and treatment, ending the practice of prescribing every test in the book and the most expensive medications. This would also impact #1 above.

4. Put an end to the practice of prolonging life through all possible means. Allow people to die with dignity instead of just milking the system for maximum profit.

5. Promote healthy life styles, making people responsible for their decisions. If you wish to smoke and eat yourself to death, fine, but refuse care for related illnesses. Back in the day we called this personal responsibility.

6. Ban prescription coverage from insurance policies. Before mandatory prescription coverage, drugs were cheap. Now we have $100 pills because people are insulated from the expense. Eliminate drug coverage and prices will realign fast.

7. End once and for all the unholy alliance between drug companies, insurance companies, and providers. This will require some government intervention, and should take the form of strict regulation with major teeth.

My plan will result in zero cost and huge savings. Compare that to Obamacare.

Posted by: itpro_z   Posted on: 07/16/09 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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