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It's the 100lb Gorilla in the room no one will be talking about with tonight's SOTU. For years Repugs have been pushing the idea that healthcare should be governed by the free market. Hey, that's all well and good, but what they ignored is the simple fact is that capitalism is ultimately about 'CHOICE'.
Healthcare is INHERENTLY ANTI-CHOICE. You can't check consumer websites when you are sitting in an emergency room. EVen if your HMO would allow it, you have little or no choice when it comes to quality, or pricepoint.
This leaves doctors, nurses, hospitals... all healthcare professionals constantly obsessing about the bottomline. The system gravitates toware the $$$. This leads directly to the irrationalities we have in our system.
And what about the insurance companies? They are often hamstrung by Byzantine laws and at the same time they are driven and forced to react to the same market forces as the doctors... not mention simple corporate greed.
Only, they are not REALLY market forces because they are not driven by consumers who have a choice. So, hospitals, doctors, insures, pharmaceutical companies all drive the cost of healthcare because they must sustain market growth and share. All them are seeking more $$$. Because there is NO CHOICE, they can continue to do so in perpetuity.
Instead, we see an inflationary spiral that favors the NEWEST drug for what ails you... the newest treatment for that severe nail fungus of yours... Rationality, HELL NO!
It is NOT true Capitalism and cannot be maintained!
Healthcare in this country needs to be reframed as a SOCIAL SERVICE... in the same sort of light we see fire deparments and police.
Here is what I would do for starters:
1. Put into Federal Law the RIGHT of every U.S. citizen to healthcare. 2. Completely repeal Medicare and Medicaid and their associated taxes and programs. 3. Mandate that each State develop their own formulae and programs for granting citizens their right to healthcare.
For example, imagine if your state did mandate Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and combined it with state-backed catostropic insurance plan. Imagine if ALL rates, fees, and salaries were FIXED in such a system... Imagine if you could actually bankroll part of that HSA (tax free)each year if you didn't use it (incentive to not abuse or overuse the system)... And finally, imagine each state experimenting and finding just the right formula that would work. HSAs are NOT such a bad idea. However, if our lawmakers don't face the facts about healthcare and the free market the death spiral will continue.
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