Healthcare Part 3

There is no doubt that our healthcare system has it's flaws. The main flaw is the inability to get insurance because of pre-existing conditions. Other flaws include insurance companies unwillingness to pay, medical lawsuits, lack of coverage for underprivileged children, and high premiums.

What the government can do to help the healthcare system is work with insurance companies to come up with a set of rules. It needs to be determined what an insurance company needs to make to cover cost, overhead, and reasonable profit. Figuring conservatively, ceiling amounts should be placed on premiums for people based on age and health history. For example, an insurance company may be able to charge a 40-year-old female with no major medical history $600 a month at a ceiling...from there insurance companies can be competitive with prices lower than $600/month to get her business. People with pre-existing conditions must be taken by insurance companies. When they are taken they are reported to the government agency in charge. That government agency is responsible for making sure all insurance companies are taking a equal percentage of the at-risk individuals. Costs stemming from that at-risk patient exceeding a certain amount can be tax-deducable.

I believe that all children should be able to receive healthcare. I know that if that is a hard and fast rule then children of people with insurance would take advantage of the system so it should be done through taxes. For example, medical costs could be used as tax credits for parents making under a certain wage. If a child has cancer or another disease then the government could absorb the cost for treatment. If my taxes go up ever so slightly to give a child a chance at life then I am for it.

One of the biggest reasons medical insurance is so expensive is because of all the tests and re-test and things doctors do to make sure they don't get tangled up in a medical malpractice law suit. There are a few things like checking blood pressure and such that need to be done but all the unnecessary x-rays and things that really don't pertain to why the patient is there should be eliminated in the name of money. There needs to be tort reform to eliminate some of the law suits regarding negligence because a doctor didn't run the 19th and 20th test on you to make sure your bladder is properly functioning when you came in for him to check your throat.

The practice of insurance companies not wanting to pay for medical expenses needs to end. If a patient goes to the doctor complaining of chest pains and it just turns out to be heartburn I understand they don't want to pay $250 for that visit. So every customer needs to have a deductible worth approximately 3% of their annual household income...and they need to pay it in full before the insurance company pays any coverage. This will prevent people from just going to the doctor for every little ache and pain.

JB