Posted by Kromey at 7:04pm Sep 24 '09From what I've read, here are the main points that supporters want to get out of mandating universal health insurance coverage:
1. Better scrutiny of health care providers and health insurance providers.
2. A solution to the pre-existing condition problem.
3. Affordable health care.
So here's the beginnings of an alternative solution:
Let's create a body who's purpose is to provide oversight (scrutiny) to the internal goings-on in both the health care and health insurance industries. At the same time, we need to better encourage (and protect) whistle blowers from within those industries (actually, let's just generalize that to all whistle blowers), because no outside organization, no matter how powerful, will ever be able to match the level of access and insight that these insiders have.
Next, let's take a page out of New Jersey's book: Ban denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions, but allow companies to selectively not cover those pre-existing conditions for a limited amount of time. Now, everyone can buy insurance, no matter what their current health, but we also severely hamper those who want to "game the system" by waiting until they're sick to buy coverage. Also, we can reinforce the already-common practice that costs incurred prior to coverage going into effect do not need to be covered (i.e. if you break your arm and then buy insurance after you're discharged from the ER, tough). Further, we could optionally permit insurance companies to institute a sort of "waiting period" for those who were not previously insured; that is, if you're uninsured and then buy insurance, the company doesn't have to cover your costs until e.g. 30 days later.
Next, we need to take a good, hard, long look at what's going on inside the industry to wrangle the cost of health care into a more affordable arena. Without knowing what's driving costs up, we can't bring them back down. But ultimately, that's what's needed: We need to reign in the costs of health care in order to give Americans affordable health care - anything else is just beating around the bush.
I've posted this before in another thread, but no one seemed interested in addressing it there. Seems everyone's more interested in taking the easy way out and just jumping on board with whatever's already on the table rather than trying to find alternative solutions.
1. Better scrutiny of health care providers and health insurance providers.
2. A solution to the pre-existing condition problem.
3. Affordable health care.
So here's the beginnings of an alternative solution:
Let's create a body who's purpose is to provide oversight (scrutiny) to the internal goings-on in both the health care and health insurance industries. At the same time, we need to better encourage (and protect) whistle blowers from within those industries (actually, let's just generalize that to all whistle blowers), because no outside organization, no matter how powerful, will ever be able to match the level of access and insight that these insiders have.
Next, let's take a page out of New Jersey's book: Ban denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions, but allow companies to selectively not cover those pre-existing conditions for a limited amount of time. Now, everyone can buy insurance, no matter what their current health, but we also severely hamper those who want to "game the system" by waiting until they're sick to buy coverage. Also, we can reinforce the already-common practice that costs incurred prior to coverage going into effect do not need to be covered (i.e. if you break your arm and then buy insurance after you're discharged from the ER, tough). Further, we could optionally permit insurance companies to institute a sort of "waiting period" for those who were not previously insured; that is, if you're uninsured and then buy insurance, the company doesn't have to cover your costs until e.g. 30 days later.
Next, we need to take a good, hard, long look at what's going on inside the industry to wrangle the cost of health care into a more affordable arena. Without knowing what's driving costs up, we can't bring them back down. But ultimately, that's what's needed: We need to reign in the costs of health care in order to give Americans affordable health care - anything else is just beating around the bush.
I've posted this before in another thread, but no one seemed interested in addressing it there. Seems everyone's more interested in taking the easy way out and just jumping on board with whatever's already on the table rather than trying to find alternative solutions.