Healthcare Reform that will work
There are several things that can be done to improve access to
healthcare, lower costs of insurance and does not require a federal
governement takeover.
1. Meaningful Tort Reform. Practicing professionals and their
insurance providers can work far more efficiently if they has some
grasp of their maximum exposure in lawsuits. While no one wants to
take away an individual's right to sue when they've been injured,
unquantifiable awards under the headings of 'pain and suffering' and/or
'punitive damages' must be capped. Using the federal anti-trust
measure of treble damages seems a reasonable standard. If the limits
on damages are say, 3 times the actual damages for pain and suffering,
and an additional 2-3 times the combined damages for the punitive
category, real reductions in medical malpractice insurance can be
realized with a resulting reduction in cost at the doctor's office.
Further, if the doctor no longer needs to practice defensive medicine,
both in the testing arena and the time it takes in notating files...the
combined savings would be enormous.
2. Expand Medical Savings accounts. First, make medical savings
accounts employer free...in other words, any person can walk into a
bank and establish such and account that goes with the individual when
they change or lose a job. Further, end the practice of 'use it or
lose it' and make the funds transferable to other types of accounts
under certain circumstances. Personally, I've never signed up for and
HSA when one was available because I could never accurately predict my
medical expenditures for the year.
3. Eliminate state insurance monopolies. Allowing individuals and
businesses to find the best plan anywhere in the country will stoke
real competition and lower premiums and prices. (This should be
extended to all lines of insurance regulated by states...ie auto and
home).
4. Phase out S-Chip, Medicare and other federal programs in favor
of vouchers for which these qualifying individuals can purchase
catastropic coverage on the open market. By phase out, I mean that
those currently in these systems would keep their current coverage if
they choose, or they can opt out for the voucher if they find a better
deal
http://schtuss.blogtownhall.com/2009/10/28/healthcare_reform_that_will_w...
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This plan is what all right wingers believe.
Take your republican plan back to a republican site. Republicans always want us to absorb all the burden after we send in our money to government. Recently I ran across an answer to a forum that says it all. "The rightwing gets hysterical everytime the government spends a DIME that is not filtered thru a rich mans pocket. In their view the ONLY function of government is to deliver the money from the pockets of the working man into the pockets of the RICH man." I think and care, therefore I vote Democrat.Wayne Blackshire
I like what a liberal
I like what a liberal blogger once wrote, we need to label them as "cheap labor conservatives," just like they toss around "tax and spend liberals", etc.
Cheap Labor Conservaties
Good one, Max. :)
Yeah, that's a keeper. I
Yeah, that's a keeper. I told that to Nancy Skinner when she was running for office some years ago, and she said she was going to use it. It's all about "re-branding" the opposition -- albeit we can do it with accuracy, whereas they have to twist, distort and make stuff up.