1) I prefer the Single Payer healthcare proposed by some in our congress such as United States National Health Insurance Act United States National Health Insurance Act, and use by other nations in the world.
As I view what would be needed, here are my requests:
- The government pays the difference between what a citizen can afford to pay out of their income (aka Means Tested)
- The plan uses private Healthcare Providers (NOT government run)
- The customer (American citizens) chooses what Healthcare Provider they want
- The government ONLY provides strict standards Healthcare Providers must meet to be eligible to participate, AND would NOT include a fixed dollar celling
- One standard must be NO Pre-existing Exclusions in a Healthcare Provider's plan
- Another standard must be, ALL government approved drug must be covered AND the citizen's personal doctor make the decision on what drugs the patient needs
2) Note that for this to work we would need a firm definition of Means Tested than we have now.
At present the government tends to have a one-shoe-fits-all policies when it comes to Means Testing. This is the wrong idea.
Means Testing should be geared to what is the costs (including healthcare) for a citizen to live in their area. The "area" should be a state controlled, a Cost of Living data collected by each state (many do so now) and compared to Federal Government statistics. I envision that such a plan give each state the choice to use their state legislative districts OR U.S. House districts as the definition of "area" from which Cost of Living data be tracked.
Once we have a realistic Cost of Living for states, then the Means Testing healthcare become a simple formula:
Means = Income - Cost_of_Living + 5% (the 5% is fluctuation padding)
Therefore if the citizen Income = Means or Means+, government pays nothing to the Healthcare Provider.
Citizen Income less than Means, government pays the percent difference, up to and including the full amount, to the Healthcare Provider.
In other words:
If the Cost of Living where you live is $25,000/yr (including healthcare coverage) and your income is $35,000/yr, government does not pay for healthcare.
If the Cost of Living where you live is $25,000/yr (including healthcare coverage) and your income is $15,000/yr, which is 60% of Cost of Living, the government pays the difference of 45% of your healthcare coverage (40% + 5% padding) per year.
Of course, citizens with no income, government pays 100% of their healthcare.
NOTE: This method of Means Testing can be used in other issues than healthcare.
Now, would my idea work?
Of course I have no idea. I'm just an ordinary citizen who watches what is going on with healthcare in our nation and the, in my view, unethical way we approach the issue. A citizen of the United States of America should NOT have there health put at risk by their ability to pay (aka money).
What is the cost containment in this type of plan? Everyone gets healthcare but the government ONLY pays for those who cannot afford to pay.
Other references:
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