Health Care Bill - What Would I Do?

This blog post is a reprint of a Facebook post I recently did in response to a question to me regarding the health care bill passage: "I do genuinely wonder what solution you would have preferred." It is sort of raw and may need some polishing, but I decided it was worth posting here as well:

First, I would have started with a Constitutional solution and one that wasn't 2000+ pages long (I cannot put all my solution in a facebook post -- but I will try!).
Dealing with health care is a power reserved to the State or the people and has not been delegated to the federal govt. The federal govt needs to turn medicare/medicaid completely over to the Sovereign States and let them deal with them. A one-size-fits-all solution for 300 million people will not work.

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The current bill will NOT reduce costs, and will further drive up premiums and taxes. It is a BOON for insurance companies (they love it!) because they are going to get 30million+ more enslaved customers conscripted by the federal government with tax payers to back up any losses to bail them out when they can no longer cover the people who overload the system (sound familiar - fanny/freddy/banking crisis anyone?)

I am the first to admit that the health care market is very complex and that there is no way it can be centerally planned (or fixed) -- let alone by a group of 535+ government politicians. Our current health care system has been undermined so much by government intervention that free market forces have been curtailed and corrupted leading to extreme price increases.

In general: Government REWARDS FAILURE and PUNISHES SUCCESS. The free market PUNISHES FAILURE and REWARDS SUCCESS. The free market is the only system by which LIBERTY and INDIVIDUAL rights, and protection of private property can be maintained while at the same time raising the PROSPERITY level of everybody to a maximum possible level. In the United States, the Federal govt has a constitutional role to play, but it is LIMITED. America is like no other country in the world because we have had a DIVERSITY of government that is DISTRIBUTED and has protected the right of the regional MINORITY to govern themselves. The freedom and liberty of individuals all over the country shape their own destiny, establish their own laws and govt that suites their needs in their locality.

There are things to be done at a federal level regarding health care/ins reform, but most involve dismantling and restoring the proper limitations placed on the federal govt by the constitution.

But, my solution for MY SOVERIGN STATE of Colorado would involve removing 3rd party payers and regulation (govt and ins companies) from the equation as much as possible:

1. Completely FORBID federal government intervention in the health care system within Colorado.
2. Promote direct payment from patient to doctor for services (FREELY exchanged) to allow price transparency and allow the free market to work (e.g. high deductibles where insurance kicks in for catestrophic coverage - you don't use auto insurance to get your brakes fixed on your car do you?). The free market (and competition along with price transparency) will inherently apply downward pressure on prices and reduced prices would allow more people access to care (what people are screaming for!).
3. Remove regulatory burden and mandates from insurance policies so individuals can FREELY pick the type of coverage (a-la-carte) they need at the price level they are FREELY willing to pay. LIBERTY!
4. Implement tort reforms to prevent excessive lawyer abuse and unnecessary tests from being performed. Doctors can FREELY choose what tests need to be performed without worrying about excessive lawsuits. Direct payment by individuals will also help reduce unnecessary testing because they can FREELY choose what tests get performed.
5. Provide the same tax benefits to employees as is currently provided to companies so individuals can FREELY buy their own health ins and not tie health ins to the job (e.g. I don't have to buy new auto ins each time I switch jobs!). LIBERTY!
6. Medicaid payments should be vouchered (like food stamps) to the individual so they can FREELY choose where it is spent and dovetail into the free market system without disrupting it. They can also use these vouchers to FREELY purchase private health ins.
7. Medicare should be replaced as much as possible with people FREELY funding their own HSA accounts and taking individual RESPONSIBILTY for their own savings. (additionally, see medicaid above). (and yes, current medicare contractual agreements to citizens would have to be paid)
8. Charity would be encouraged by the state matching payment by those who purchased and donated medicare/medicaid vouchers and giving directly to those in need (or something like this). Fundamentally ENCOURAGE and REWARD individuals for HELPING OTHER PEOPLE DIRECTLY! Currently govt gives people an EXCUSE to NOT HELP other people by stepping in as the middleman via taxation and wealth redistribution schemes. Currently, by stepping in, government ROBS from its citizens one of the most rewarding pleasures a human can feel -- the satisfaction of DIRECTLY helping another person.
9. Entitlements would NOT accrue over time and would be budgeted into the YEARLY State budget based on tax rate and available funds. NO PONZI SCHEMES like medicare/medicaid/social security!!!
10. most importantly my solution WILL NOT involve 17,000 IRS agents!

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