Today’s post is the first in a series of articles that will introduce a uniquely American solution to our nation's healthcare dilemma; a solution that guards against the things about which the opponents of healthcare reform are most concerned. This first article provides an overview of the proposed system and subsequent articles will show how it will look, how it will work, and how much it will cost.
Overview of a Uniquely American Healthcare Solution. While the debate over healthcare legislation rages on, let us understand what the fuss is all about. One would think we could all agree with the simple idea that everyone deserves access to quality medical care but opposition to this, and every other idea to provide universal healthcare, is rampant. It would be helpful if we could identify the concerns that provide the foundation for that opposition.
Socialized Medicine – a huge portion of the American people are adamantly opposed to even the idea of a government-run healthcare system. They do not trust their government to do a decent job of providing healthcare and they do not want the government running their lives.
Higher Taxes – many people are convinced that any plan for universal healthcare will result in huge increases in the taxes hard working Americans will be asked to pay and will also result in massive growth in our national debt.
Higher Cost – there is fear that healthcare, which already costs the American people $2.5 Trillion, will cost even more.
Free Ride – many Americans seem to be concerned that people who don’t want to work will get a free ride at the expense of the rest of us.
Rationed Care – There is wide belief that national healthcare plans in other countries results in the rationing of care and that ours would do the same.
Low Quality Care – many believe that a nationalized health plan can only serve to diminish the quality of the care we receive.
Restricted Choice – Finally, many believe that our freedom of choice regarding the providers of our care will be severely restricted if not altogether lost.
The other significant factor in both the problems of the American health care system, and in our quest for a solution, is the health insurance industry, which spends enormous sums of money to influence the legislative process. As the reader will discover, as he or she learns more about the uniquely American solution that serves as the subject of this series of articles, is that the health insurance industry is a significant component of the problems of the current system and is not part of the solution. The interests of the American people are the only ones deserving of our attention and concern.
The trillion dollar question is, would the American people support a health plan that could categorically assure that none of the above would happen? The one thing upon which we can agree is that there is no way to predict, with any degree of certainty, how the American people will respond.
That being said, what follows is a brief overview of a uniquely American solution to the problems of health care, that:
- Provides comprehensive medical care and prescription drugs to all Americans;
- Keeps the government, both state and federal, out of the healthcare delivery business,
- Requires that all Americans pay their own way, proportionate to income, irrespective of source;
- Enables all businesses, both large and small, to afford health coverage for their employees and families;
- Returns control of the practice of medicine to the primary care physician;
- Gives patients the freedom to choose their primary care physician and also the freedom to change that choice whenever they think it necessary;
- Eliminates the middle men (health insurance, managed care, Medicare, and Medicaid) so that all healthcare dollars flow to actual providers of care;
- Reduces the out-of-pocket costs for the vast majority of Americans;
- Slows the growth of aggregate healthcare costs to less than or equal to the rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), saving the American people as much as $6 Trillion over the next decade;
- Relies on free market forces to drive price, quality, and accountability;
- Aligns the interests of patients and providers, changing healthcare from a transaction-driven system to one that is relationship-driven;
- Provides real incentives for doctors to practice preventive medicine and to educate patients about healthy lifestyles;
- Provides incentives for young physicians to choose primary care rather than a subspecialty practice;
- Rewards physicians who choose to locate their practices in communities that currently have limited access to healthcare services;
- Requires providers to practice a team approach to healthcare delivery in which all services to patients are coordinated by the primary care physician; and,
- Does all of the above in a simple way that even your 90-year old grandmother can understand.
In the series of articles to follow, we will show exactly how each of these objectives will be accomplished, we will show how much it will cost and how we will pay for it; we will show how the system will look, how it will function from day to day, and we will show how it will effect both patients and providers.
Because everything hinges on cost, the next article will begin with the cost of care and how we will pay for it. Why not read along?
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