Conservative health reforms. what do you think?

[mate]

Okay-are the GOP ready, willing and able to sign a bill before the end of the year?
Do they realize that the average good insurance for a family of 4 is $18,000 a year, not $5,000?
"Make all health care expenses tax deductible, not just when paid for by an employer, when they exceed 7.5% of AGI." Wrong. They all ready are tax deductible, co-pays etc.
You are wrong on #6 too, my friend. Seniors can buy many different health ins options to add to their medicare. I am in the industry.

You forgot about preexisting conditions. So, the small business owner who had cancer 5 years ago could still be denied, or charged an astronomical fee for insurance.

Republicans DO NOT want reform. They want to state petty things like "give them a $5,000 tax break a year" to make it look like they acknowledge there needs to be reform, but if it were up to them, nothing would be changed.

[muireach]

The first two suggestions would only allow more people to buy insurance that they will find out is woefully inadequate when they really need it.

Number 3,4, and 5 are nice for people who already have coverage but don't help the uninsured. But I do like like #5 and it makes good sense.

But your plan does nothing for people who cannot buy affordable insurance, people who have had life saving procedures denied, been dropped when they get sick....

The real issue is that Health Care will always be over priced as long as it is for profit. We should be looking at single payer. Unfortunately, that was long ago off the table. Obama's plan may end up with a public option than hopefully control costs.

[ern]

All those suggestions still don't get at the root of the problem. Private health insurance companies charge way too much for the service they provide because they have a high overhead. To maintain profits they have to be selective about who they insure, and this leaves too many people out, and those people are dealt with with public money....the 'taxes' that the GOP has such a problem with. Private insurance companies charge forty three cents per premium dollar to cover overhead and profit. Medicare charges three cents per premium dollar for the same thing. If 'competition' would lower costs that would be nice, but lowering costs wouldn't lower the price to the customer. Lower overhead would mean more profit per premium dollar. Certainly folks should be able to write off ALL medical expenses, but should apply to Medicare as well....lowing the cost per insured that much more. Medicare isn't 'free' as some people believe Medicare Part A and Part B costs about $1500 a year per insured, but it's WAY less than ANY commercial insurance. The republicans are fronting for the health insurance industry..an industry that doesn't want to lose its cash cow. Understandable, but their business is causing way too many people way too much expense and grief. It's time for something new and that can only be some form of Medicare for all. Times have changed, somehow the republicans don't see that.

[westbroc90]

We have been over why these ideas don't work. They don't lower prices. They don't protect people who are having trouble getting insurance to follow their contracts. They don't help people who don't have access to the private market now.


1) Health care companies can already do this. They just have to respects laws in other states.

2) Regulation of health care protects people from being denied by health insurance companies. We already have enough problems with health insurance companies denying care illegally causing delays in treatment that cause death.

If a large number of people switch to catastrophic only, then health care will decline, not improve when people suddenly find themselves with medical bills they can't pay.

3) HSA are only a tax break. People have to have money to put in them. Almost everyone who can use an HSA or similar account doesn't need it. Its benefits aren't large enough to make any difference.

4) Medical Malpractice reform has been carried out in multiple states already. The number of preventative tests being ran did not decline in any of those states. Instead better hospital administration due to improvements in the system caused the number of lawsuits to decline.

It turns out the primary reason to run lots of diagnostic tests is to help save lives. And allows them to avoid procedures that are more likely to cause lawsuits.

5) Redundant of HSA or similar accounts. Expand their use and this is already achieved. Or do this and get rid of the expense of HSA like accounts and regulation.

6)Medicaid and medicare is already the most efficient insurance system in the US. Replacing it with the private market would increase costs. Medicare operates at medical costs plus 3%. Private health insurance operates at medical costs plus 15 to 20 percent.


Still none of these will solve any of the problems that people who can't get health care have.

[fitche]

There is nothing here that will solve the health care crisis, and some like #1 are downright dangerous. All that will lead to is a race to the bottom where all insurance companies will relocate to the state that gives them the best opportunity to shaft people and reap bigger profits. Why do "states rights" republicans want to take away the right of state insurance regulators to control insurance quality in their states?