Some key ideas to fix health care

If I were in Washington, this is what I would be advocating for regarding health care reform.

1. Each state defines what it considers basic health insurance coverage. Every insurance company in the state required to offer a version of this policy. Move Medicaid recipients to this plan. The Government would subsidize based upon a sliding need scale.

2. Outlaw the use of pre-existing conditions in determining eligibility or cost of the insurance coverage.

3. Health care decisions are made by the doctor and the patient.

4. People can buy this plan or any other plan of their choosing. Employers can buy into this plan for their employees or a better plan.

5. All billing must be done electronically and all medical records readily shareable.

6. Institute tort reform.

7. For those individuals faced with catastrophic health care situations that would bankrupt the family, they have the choice of opting to join an assigned risk pool. Their health care costs would be no longer be paid by the insurance policy but paid from a pool of funds provided in equal parts by the government, health insurance companies, and the health care industry, hospitals, doctors, and pharmaceutical companies. The purpose is to maintain a quality of life, but extraordinary procedures would not be provided.

8. The government would invest more into research for new drugs and cures. If any research is successful, the government would license the intellectual property to drug companies to commercialize and manufacture.

With this plan, everyone gives up something and everyone gains something. All that is necessary is for someone to step up and lead. Who wants to run with this?

John McLaughlin

Inverness