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The same way we fixied racial diversity issues without the government. We sent in the Ku Klux Klan.
Seriously, the this is not an autocratic dictatorship. The government facilitates the collective will of the people. In a republic such as ours, the people express their will first, and then the government gathers the resources to deliver the clout.
If the American people decide, in their collective wisdom, that a single-payer is the most efficient means of funding health care that serves every one, that is what the people should have. There are limited options on deciding who that single payer ought to be. We can give a monopoly to one insurance company in the private sector, and let them construct their own profit margin without competition or oversight, or we can create an insurance company in the public sector where the voters will have oversight and there is no profit margin. Your call.
1. Take care of yourself. Eat right, exercise every day.
2. Take responsibility for ensuring you see the Dr. at least every couple of years. Don't wait until your foot falls off to see the Dr. about that diabetes problem
3. Choose a PPO plan with a high deductible. Pay for routine care out of your pocket. It will cost you less in the long run.
4. Either better tax credits or stronger patent protection for the development of drugs. It costs millions to billions to develop a drug. Drug companies are for-profit enterprises.
If the country does head towards Universal Care, which I oppose, it should cover only catastrophic or major issues. Everthing else should be out-of-pocket.
If you don't have insurance..........how are you going to pay for all of this care? Especially if you have a condition such as diabetes.........your method does not work. That's the point. You can't see the doctor if you can't afford to see the doctor.
If you don't have insurance..........how are you going to pay for all of this care? Especially if you have a condition such as diabetes.........your method does not work. That's the point. You can't see the doctor if you can't afford to see the doctor.
Reread the post.
The OP didn't suggest not having insurance, but having a high deductible insurance. Stop looking at insurance as a full service product. Your car insurance doesn't pay for new tires or to get your oil changed... it's there to protect your assets. The same can be said for health insurance. You shouldn't lose your assets because you fell off a ladder and split your head open... which is what a high deductible plan protects.
Here's where most Americans have a hard time... the math. Look at the actual cost of your full service plan, compare that to a HSA plan with a high deductible, now add in your typical doctor visits. What is more affordable?
For us, a HSA is much more affordable... and my wife has diabetes. You can get generic drugs at Walmart for $4 a pop, negotiate your rates with your doctor since you pay cash, and stop forking over tons of $ to insurance companies.
But I bet most homeowners do a similar thing because most people can't manage money. Most people I know have a very low deductible on their home and car insurance policies. Me on the other hand, it's as high as possible... I take the difference and put it into money market accounts and mutual funds. If the storm clouds come, I'll have enough to cover my deductible and then some.
I think mandatory common sense budgeting and investing classes in highschool would help future generations avoid the same pitfalls that the current ones are facing.
The OP didn't suggest not having insurance, but having a high deductible insurance. Stop looking at insurance as a full service product. Your car insurance doesn't pay for new tires or to get your oil changed... it's there to protect your assets. The same can be said for health insurance. You shouldn't lose your assets because you fell off a ladder and split your head open... which is what a high deductible plan protects.
Here's where most Americans have a hard time... the math. Look at the actual cost of your full service plan, compare that to a HSA plan with a high deductible, now add in your typical doctor visits. What is more affordable?
For us, a HSA is much more affordable... and my wife has diabetes. You can get generic drugs at Walmart for $4 a pop, negotiate your rates with your doctor since you pay cash, and stop forking over tons of $ to insurance companies.
But I bet most homeowners do a similar thing because most people can't manage money. Most people I know have a very low deductible on their home and car insurance policies. Me on the other hand, it's as high as possible... I take the difference and put it into money market accounts and mutual funds. If the storm clouds come, I'll have enough to cover my deductible and then some.
I think mandatory common sense budgeting and investing classes in highschool would help future generations avoid the same pitfalls that the current ones are facing.
The plans you outline are not available in my state, which is the state with the highest health insurance costs in the US. New tires and oil changes are much, much more affordable than visits to the endocrinologist and other specialists, plus drugs, etc. Your comparison is not legitimate.
The plans you outline are not available in my state, which is the state with the highest health insurance costs in the US. New tires and oil changes are much, much more affordable than visits to the endocrinologist and other specialists, plus drugs, etc. Your comparison is not legitimate.
Which is why government is part of the problem. The reason you can't buy health insurance across state lines is regulation... yet there are people on here who ask why competition isn't working.
I think Health care in America needs some major fixing. It'd be great if everyone who needs/wants health insurance could have it. But I don't like govt. run health care either. I don't think it would work here in the U.S. I've heard about "free market solutions" to the health care crisis, but nobody really says much about it, and instead focuses on opposing Govt. health care.
So my question is...can we fix health care via the free market, and if so, how? Your thoughts
A free market in medicine would most probably result in franchised like healthcare. No one would really have a reason to do any of the unprofitable procedures. I think a decision has to be made about the type and quality of health care we want available before we decide on a method of delivering it.
A free market in medicine would most probably result in franchised like healthcare. No one would really have a reason to do any of the unprofitable procedures. I think a decision has to be made about the type and quality of health care we want available before we decide on a method of delivering it.
Since 95% of all health care expenditures occur in the last 6 months of life, we can save enormous amounts of money by simply cutting off health care six months prior to death.
(BTW, the above comment is stated ironically.)
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