Well, well, well! It’s like watching a game of Twister being played in the dark. Perhaps four individuals (out of 535 Members of Congress) understand the issue at a level sufficient to enact a cure unfortunately, no one is listening to them.
Just remember that any move toward restoring soundness to the medical system (at the Care Level, Pharmaceuticals, Devices and Coverage) must begin with the following:
- Broaden the risk pool that Carriers participate by eliminating government subsidized programs.
- Pull health maintenance out of ER’s and into Hospital Managed/Run Clinics.
- Establish Base Major Medical Plans that All Carriers Must Offer.
- Portable/Cross-State Coverage is a must.
- Limit Pharmaceuticals Patent Protection to four years with generic capability in two.
- Tort reform including rigorous cap on Attorney’s Fees.
- Cap Carrier profit and offer a cost-reduction bonus-feature.
Any legislation that doesn’t address these seven fundamental issues will illustrate the overwhelming influence each sector imposes on the process.
On the issue of Health-Savings Accounts simply think of it as a cunning ruse. Face it, if the public is going to have a problem coming up with the money to pay a premium what is the incentive for anyone to create a health savings account? Further, why would an Individual that does have the wherewithal to pay their deductible accumulate funds in a health-savings account? It is both irrational and cross-purposed to use the artifice of “Tax Savings” as an inducement. All you are doing is redirecting/redistributing Tax Revenues on/in a manner that is an industry factor. Why not simply induce the Health Care Industry to offer “payment plans” at either no-interest or at very-low interest rates from a pool of funds the Industry self-funds?
Just seems impossible to fix what prefers to remain broken which pretty much explains much about the origins of government-induced failure. This single observation is acutely applicable to the functions of Government where pursuing the best possible outcome subordinates to the lowest possible common denominator of vice and ignorance.
This mess will never pass beyond the talking-points and if it were to make it to the President’s Desk we’d better hope he doesn’t sign it. All the current effort does is create a structure for the Feds and the States, each year, to widen and deepen the black-hole of Medicaid & Medicare.
Curtis C. Greco, Founder