Health care Reform: Overhaul or upgrade?

The United States has the best health care system in the world. No one will argue that point. The debate is that the cost of health care is too much and not enough people can afford the premiums being charged by private sector insurance companies. These statements are facts. There are many changes that need to made within the private sector that can save millions if not billions of premium dollars to consumers and taxpayers. The changes and savings can come from many components of the health care system but the most glaring and easiest to fix is abuse and malpractice. I do not have to go into much detail on this fact because I believe the Americans that have had to deal with these issues have warned us all to be very loudly over the last couple of decades to question your doctor extensively when lives and livelihoods are at stake. I make these general comments to lead up to what I believe would be an intelligent and less political answer to fixing the big problem,which is, how we as a country can lower costs and cover more Americans with health insurance without mortgaging our children future.

If we allow the government to control what doctors we see, and what tests should be done, and what pill is more cost effective to take, and what life is beneficial to save, then we have given government the ability to control even more of our lives. I believe that no matter what party affiliation you may be, your freedom to choose is a right you will refuse to give up.

The best idea I have been associated with to deal with health care reorganization deals with the problem much more realistically and affordably.

• Insurance companies, Dr. offices, hospitals,claim departments and all other entities plagued with abuse mandate and police these issues and eliminate them saving millions and billions as Obama has stated several times.
• Cap the amount insurance companies are liable for in max out of cost expenditures in catastrophic cases and have the government pick the overage. By government I mean raising taxes slightly.
• This catastrophic relief would enable insurance companies to lower premiums and inject richer benefits into the plans they offer.
• This relief and resulting lower premiums would immediately allow many millions of Americans to afford coverage. Not all 47 million of the current uninsured would benefit from this because there are still 12 to 13 million people that would not be able to afford coverage due to income.
• The remaining 12 or 13 million people could be covered by the government in a variety of ways. There are billions of unspent Tarp funds that will probably not be used at all for the economic crisis due to the fact that eventually the economy will turn around. I will say that I do not think that these funds should be spent to provide top of the line insurance coverage but it would provide hospitalization and preventive care and help with drug cost(a topic for a whole other issue.) Good basic coverage would be 100% more than these people have now.

You read that I said raise taxes slightly. I am willing to pay a small tax increase to radically and effectively change health care and make it more effective and efficient and affordable to as many that want to have health coverage. What I do not want is to pay a tremendous tax increase for the rest of my life and more than likely my children's life and have the government be in even more control of our lives than they already are. An overhaul is over-the top and will take choice out of your hands and reduce the quality of care that has made us the country with the best health care in the world. My suggestion would be to everyone that is truly concerned about this issue to read the 1000 page document outlining what President Obama wants to push through as quickly as possible because your Congressman and Senators have not. When they take their Summer break and come back to their constituents to have their town hall meetings, you will be aware and informed and prepared to communicate your demands. If people would actually do this, the final result and Bill that is signed will be what the people want and need instead of what the government wants you to believe you need. You may not agree with the idea presented here and that is fine, but ideas are what we need to give to our Congressman and women and our Senators instead of being told what we are going to get from people that ever have to worry about health care for the rest of their lives. I guarantee that not one of our politicians will be choosing a plan from the government exchange if the Bill passed today as it stands!