Solutions To Affordable Health Care

      I did a similar blog July of 2012.  Now it is almost two years later and health care is in worse shape than ever.    The primary reasons for rising health care costs are huge service and administrative costs, and the lack of competition.  How do we fix it? 

The solution is simple.  We eliminate the majority of service costs.  This means taking the cost of filing insurance claims away from the health care provider, and eliminating the majority of the claims service cost from the insurance provider.

        We promote true catastrophic major medical insurance, and make changes to eliminate first dollar billing medical insurance.  It does not matter if there is a deductible. The cost starts with the paperwork.  We promote and encourage medical savings plans.  Medical savings plans will give people cash reserves to pay predictable, routine and preventative health care costs.  This will encourage competition and eliminate the cost of insurance company involvement. 

    How do we do it?  Actually, it is quit simple.  I think I could write the legislation myself and it probably would be less than ten pages long. 

1.          Make the practice of health care providers discounting to insurance companies illegal.  Individuals paying for their normal routine health care must not be penalized. 

2.          Make it illegal for any health care provider to have direct contact with any medical insurance company, or ask a patient for their medical insurance.  Service companies or accounting firms can provide this service if the patient desires, but it will not increase the cost of health care from the health care provider.  These companies can hire the displaced workers from the claims departments of the insurance companies and health care providers.

3.          Encourage true major medical policies with high deductibles of maybe $50,000 or more per injury or disease.  Deductibles must be per injury or disease and NOT annual.  These policies will have no benefit limit and no co-pay.  No predictable, routine or preventative health care costs will be covered with medical insurance.

4.          Individual medical savings accounts that accumulate over the years must be encouraged.  Money put in these accounts would be tax exempt if we continue with our present archaic tax system.  These savings accounts can be used to pay predictable, routine and preventative health care costs.  They could also be used for major medical insurance premiums in the event of an emergency.   

5.          A luxury tax will be imposed on any first dollar coverage medical insurance.  This will have to be implemented in stages based on a person’s age, as older people do not have the medical savings accounts in place.  Eventually this “Luxury Tax” should be as high as 100% of the premium. 

6.          Private charity and/or government run clinics and hospitals similar to the present VA hospitals and clinics will provide health care for the poor. 

 This solution may seem radical, but think about it.   It will work, and it will reduce health care costs.  The biggest roadblocks for this workable solution are politicians and medical insurance executives, which will fight the change, because it will cost them money and power.  Most health care providers will welcome the change.

 I believe this solution could reduce health care costs by 40% in the first year and as much as 80% when fully implemented.  It makes sense.  Do we want our healthcare controlled by the government?  Do we want affordable health care or more partisan politics?