Viva_La_Migra
Market Veteran
- Reaction score
- 56
I like the idea of allowing all U.S. citizens and legal permanent resident aliens to buy into the FEHB plan. More participants SHOULD mean lower premiums. I just don't trust the government to properly and effectively negotiate premiums for the masses when the insurance companies are allowed to lobby Congress. It won't work. Congress will allow campaign contributions to cloud their judgment and make US pay more! The health care lobby is a powerful lobbying group now, imagine if they were getting money from everyone in the United States! Too much power for one segment of the population!For me:
Tort reform? Yes.
Federal plan available for sale to everyone? Yes.
Federal negotiations for drugs? Yes.
Federal standard for use of electronic records? Yes.
Federal standards for rating hospital success and performance? Yes.
Mandate that every person must have some kind of health care insurance in place? No! This is still America! A free people should be able to choose whether or not they have insurance. If one chooses not to have an insurance plan, then hospitals are only required to provide basic life saving services in emergency situations. Got the flu, but don't have insurance, don't come here! Wait it out and take over the counter medications to relieve symptoms. Car accident? We'll stitch you up, make sure you aren't going to die, then send you home ASAP with a HUGE medical bill!
We'll see how it shakes out. It's still early. But I believe there will be some kind of plan passed.
In addition to a reasonable insurance policy that the people can, but are not required to purchase, why not allow people to save more money tax free in medical savings accounts and allow them to carry those accounts over year after year if the money is not used? This way one could save up money for emergency medical expenses that, statistically speaking, is bound to come up at some point in everyone's lives. As a disincentive to non medical withdrawals, tax such withdrawals at 50-60%.
My thoughts are not a perfect solution to the problem, but I like that better than government run health care.