Friday, August 14, 2009

Republican HealthCare Reform

So this is going to be a list, of sorts, of what an alternative healthcare reform could be from the Republican side.

I'll start this list from comments I've read from other Republicans and conservatives, such as Jennifer and Pamela. The list will expand with other ideas found, or brought into the discussion in the comments. I'll update as we go.

So far, here is what I've got:

From Pamela D. Hart:
Add a policy, something like Medicare, let’s just call it “Medifree.” Medifree will cover anyone who doesn’t have private insurance, isn’t on Medicare, Medicaid or can’t afford insurance through their employer or any other means. Those who CAN afford insurance but choose NOT to purchase it, i.e. the 18-34 yr old invincibles and families who earn at least $50K, would have to purchase their own insurance. Those who truly can NOT afford insurance would get insurance through “Medifree” because they earn too much to qualify for Medicaid and are too young to be on Medicare.

Law and Order Teacher:
Have government and private health care form a partnership, something on the order of the public utilities commissions.

Jennifer:
*Change the tax code. Individuals should have the same tax incentives as employers who offer coverage. For example, there could be an income tax deduction of $7,500 for individuals and $15,000 for families. Over the long-term, people will move to portable, long-term individual insurance.

* Refundable tax credit. A refundable tax credit of $2,500 for individuals or $5,000 for families would eliminate the tax exclusion for those who get their insurance from their employers.

* Allow the purchase of health care insurance across state lines so that individuals have more choices in plans. This will encourage a robust market in individually owned health care.

* Reduce state regulations and mandates on insurance plans to help reduce costs. There are 1,901 mandates nationwide in 2007, up from 1,843 in 2006.

* Expand tax breaks for Health Savings Accounts. HSAs provide for tax-free accumulation and at the same time offer real protection against larges losses.

* Allow for the growth of convenient clinics. There are about 700 retail clinics located in Wal-Marts, Targets, and other Walk-in Centers. Convenient clinics reduce the costs by offering the uninsured an alternative to emergency rooms. It’s also an inexpensive option for people with HSAs.

* Medical Malpractice reforms are needed to help keep doctors’ insurance costs down which will reduce the costs of care. For example, states could enact laws that would put a cap on non-economic damages.

* Provide vouchers for the working poor so that they can purchase insurance from a state pool.

*Make health insurance more like car insurance. Provide choices.

Ablur:
Cost of Illegal Immigration to our healthcare system
Tort Reform - Frivolous and Record Breaking Awards
Education and Personal Health Responsibility
Freeing up Health Professionals to Deal with actual Health issues
Doctor Availability and the lack of new doctors entering the market
3rd party payer healthcare places incentives in the wrong area (HMOs and the real cost)

11 comments:

ablur said...

I have laid this problem out very clearly a couple of years ago in an post I wrote titled,
How To Make Healthcare Cheaper.
The Key Points Covered:
Cost of Illegal Immigration to our healthcare system
Tort Reform - Frivolous and Record Breaking Awards
Education and Personal Health Responsibility
Freeing up Health Professionals to Deal with actual Health issues
Doctor Availability and the lack of new doctors entering the market
3rd party payer healthcare places incentives in the wrong area (HMOs and the real cost)

Feel free to mix my list into yours. The more people we have working on the problem the better the chance of a solution that will work and not drowned us.

Anonymous said...

James, I admire what you are doing here. There are a lot of ideas out there and the only way to discuss them is to put them all together. Ablur's was a great piece and I think it would add a lot to the discussion!

Unknown said...

I'd say tort reform and illegal alien roundup rodeo top my list.

Those two things in their selves would help out immensely.

ImAlwaysRight said...

If we would only throw Socialism out the window or down the toilet with the rest of the crap, we would solve most of todays problems.

James' Muse said...

Alright, I've put your list in there ablur.

Always Right: Not necessarily true. Many of our problems don't arise out of socialism at all. Also: what does that have to with this?

Joe "Truth 101" Kelly said...

I wasn't going to post anything on this cause I thought you were looking for Republican ideas James. I just wanted to take one of the few opportunities that arise to agree with Blupitbull. I have several close relatives in the health care field. I know a large percentage of malpractice or negligence claims are the fault of patients not following doctor's orders or drug and alcohol abuse. Something has to be done to stop these cases from going to court where a less than scrupulus lawyer can pick a sympathetic or just plain ignorant jury.

ablur said...

The hot button seems to always be tort reform, but I see this as equal or smaller then the other issues as part of the solution.
Illegals and their use of emergency rooms for basic care has greatly impacted our healthcare system and its cost.
Personal responsibility and tort reform probably go hand in hand.
Doctor availability and the drop in enrollment in medical school will continue to weigh heavy on our healthcare system. The new healthcare proposal has caused a number of doctors to look toward retirement.
The one that always bugs me though is our third party paying system. This is the key area where HSA could greatly change the focus and philosophy of the healthcare delivery system.
I also wrote a peice on the drug industry and how we are being robbed through the blackmail practices of other countries.

You bring this all together and the reason for the vast cost escalation becomes obvious. How can our representatives continue to ignore all these issues and then claim to have any plan on reforming healthcare? If you don't fix the problems, you are only making things worse.

Average American said...

The main concensus here seems to be we DO need reform, just not the reform NObama wants.

I feel torte reform, illegal aliens, a paper jungle of insurance forms, and a serious shortage of primary care doctors AND nurses are the 4 major problem areas. There are plenty more problems, but I see NO NEED to do it ALL at once. That is what is killing the dems chances of getting anything.

DiscipleDOC said...

Lets see:

He has tripled the deficit in just 100 days. He has added more to the deficit than all previous presidents.

In just 100 days the GDP has shrunk by almost 6%.

Three states and more than 119 US cities have double digit unemployment.

Calif has a couple of cities that have 25% unemployment.

The national unemployment rate is currently 9.4%. Which is a 25 year high!

Home mortgage foreclosures are at a 25 year high.

And this is only a small fraction of what he is doing to the country.

So I would have to say yes Obama is ruining America

(O)CT(O)PUS said...

A view from the Swash Zone.

Anonymous said...

As the song goes, "This Could Be the Start of Something Big"