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A Better Health Care Plan for America
By Dr. Georsen, Jan. 21, 2010
The majority of American people are not satisfied with the recently passed senator’s health reform plan, which is not a good plan and is not a true reform bill. It expands medicaid coverage or a similar program by increasing the tax burden or expanding the deficit, and further undermines the financial stability of our country. The plan will lead us to depend more heavily on the private health care industry and sink us further into the black hole of our failed health care system.
“A Better Health Care Plan for America” is a true reform health care proposal that take our health care system in a totally new direction. This plan divides our health care plan into two different systems. The first adopts the successful public administrative systems from all other leading industrial countries of the world and provides hospitalization care (in-patient care) coverage to all citizens and qualified peoples of the United States. The second system consists of out-patient care coverage mainly provided by our existing private health care insurance companies. These two systems accommodate and support each other to create a totally new system to feasibly meet our “American Way”, to complete our ideal health care service and to achieve the goal of “ it is affordable and everybody will have one.”
The hospitalization care plan is a basic health care coverage. It provides us a safety blanket and security for living. It is a taxpayer paid, self supporting and sufficient system. The out-patient care plans are paid for by the insurers or by their employers which are optional and supplemental plans. Because of its reduced coverage and services, and lower operating expenses, it should be much less costly and more affordable. Reimbursement of this health care tax and paid insurance premiums is at the discretion of the employer is optional and is negotiable between the employee and employer.
This plan also proposes a new medicare part C plan for our children. It’s payment is comparable to our medicare part A & B programs and is paid for by the child’s parent or
guardian. It is also mainly a self supporting plan. This plan allows our health care program to start from early childhood and to help our children grow up healthily. This is a little investment that will receive huge rewards in the future. It is so important and is a good program that should have overwhelming public support.
Our existing medicare and medicaid programs would remain unchanged.
Actually this is the brief of the article of “ The Fundamental Reform of Our Health Care System and Providing Everybody the Basic Health Care Coverage” which I submitted to our political leaders and some interested groups in October 2009. Its theoretical points and the workable details are all thoughtfully discussed and explained. The followings are some other view points written in that article:
· All the leading industrial countries (G8) with exception of United States have provided the health care coverage for their people. Are they all wrong or only we are right? The answers are clearly found from the statistical health care data from Canada and our current health care scenario.
· The health care is a basic human need, it should be considered as a fundamental welfare benefit of the people that the government is responsible to provide.
· The basic function of the government is serving the people − for the people, there is no issue of “too big” but rather “need” or “not need”. Please do not misled our people to believe that whatever the government involved in is wrong.
· It is a fundamental mistake that we have let our life and death issues been handled by the business.
· The proposed public administrative program for the hospitalization in-patient care coverage is different from Canadian’s program. With the exception of VA system, as our hospitals, medical facilities and medical personnel are not owned or paid for by our government and no evidence of shortage in providing the medical service in most places of our country. The Canadian health care’s short points such as awaiting or delaying will not happened here.
· Our democratic lawmakers proposed government subsidized health care plan for the uninsured persons is going to be difficult to implement. Because of if the subsidiary portions are not large enough then a lot of people are still going to be left uncovered, but if we are going to pay trillions of dollars to expand the medicaid coverage or similar plans that would lead to insurmountable problems. Not only the government is unable to afford it, also it will let us feel like are living in the society of unfairness and a lack of trust, “using your money to pay my insurance” is worse than the socialism! This plan should be held as a last resources until the private insurance companies are unable to hold down the costs in the future.
· As you know the health care reform is actually targets to the private health care insurance companies. These companies are the major campaign contributors or sponsors to our Washington lawmakers. Now let the lawmakers to vote on the issue to oppose to their sponsors, it is a conflict of interest! Has our political system been compromised?
· The reform of our health care system is so important and it will affect everybody’s daily lives, our future and generations to come. It is also directly affect to the financial stability of our country. It seems to be more important than the presidential election. Therefore a general referendum or voting on these issues is necessary and appropriate.
· This article also proposed: the new system to manage and control of our health care services; the cost controls for successful reform, such as – how to reduce the drug costs; save the expenses of our medicare and medicaid programs; the reduction of disability’s expenses; the issue of medical malpractice reform; and some proposed new approaches in the prevention of our public health issues which will be helpful to reduce the health care costs, etc.
If U.S. employers are mandated to pay for health care, U.S. products and services would be subject to higher costs and would be more expensive than those from foreign competitors. This definitely affects our economy. Have we learned the lessons from GM and Chrysler?
For many years we have been told that our medicare funds are running short, therefore it have been advised to raise the age of enrollment to start medicare coverage. Now our lawmakers proposed to lower the age of coverage for the uninsured persons. It will definitely increase the expenditures of medicare or will be cutting down the current medicare benefits to cover it. Is our medicare program going to be jeopardized?
Any bill that proposes 85% of the population pays for the other 15%, or places the burden on younger generations to pay bills in the future, is unfair and irresponsible.
We have reached the breaking point to stop us from continuing to fall into our failing health care system. A new solution must be found and the legislation of this issue definitely should be passed sooner or later. However, the majority of our people is still uncertain and do not know whether we are going to have a better plan in the future. Therefore we need more time for our people to study the issues and look into whether better alternatives are available. Any setting of a deadline and rushing to pass a bill is not necessary and is not proper.
The proposed new health care plan outlined above is suitable for our current situation, and meets our needs and challenges. It is a plan of simplicity, equality and fairness and is the only way to achieve the goal of everybody to have health care coverage in the United States. It is affordable and will not add to our budget deficit if it can be managed properly. This plan could be the best solution that we may have! With our people’s wisdom and courage, I am sure that we will resolve and conquer this difficult issue and have a good feasible health care system in the future.
If you are interest in reviewing this new health care plan in detail, you are invited to visit my blog site at: drgeorsen.blogspot.com
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