I don’t think there is any question that the selection of Paul Ryan by Mitt Romney as his VP running mate has finally opened the doors to a “real” debate on health care issues. The national healthcare “system” in this country is a failure in terms of both cost and availability. Solutions have been brushed under the rug for too long and America has clearly lacked the leadership and courage to effectively deal with the problem. Maybe, just maybe, as this new national debate over Medicare expands, as the next Presidential election gets closer, we will presented with some doable solutions.
The primary flaw in our current process is the intertwining of our jobs and health insurance. Job #1 would be to eliminate employers out of the health care insurance equation. The cost and selection of health insurance should be solely the responsibility of the individual, not his or her boss or the government. The role of the government should be to ensure that the health insurance industry provides the most competitive services and prices to the public as possible. Should that fail to be the case, the industry must be regulated by government to do so.
The campaign promise that “everyone” should have the same “Cadillac” healthcare coverage as Congress, should serve as the benchmark. If that is Medicare, then that should be the foundation. That “plan” should then be sold to the public by a variety of private providers so that it could be purchased by everyone. There should be no mandated requirement to purchase such a plan. There would be no vouchers, coupons, certificates or exchanges associated with such a program. Medicare, for those 50 and over should go unchanged. Those that can financially do so should opt out of receiving benefits. For those between 18-50, healthcare insurance would be purchased as one would life or car insurance.
There is the ever present cloud of the people who cannot afford health coverage. That was what Medicaid was designed for. With ever more guidelines to reduce fraud, this system should continue, however, be redesigned to offer not only better care to patients, but a significantly improved payment system to providers. The objection to this has always been cost – how and why should “we” pay for this. The answer is both economics and ethics based. As our economy “stabilizes” or “normalizes” – as unemployment is reduced and Americans insist on a balanced Federal budget, the funding requirement for Medicaid should decrease and the impact lessened on taxpayers. Ethically, is all our responsibility to take care of every American that needs medical care.
What the American people must demand is simplicity. Obama care is not, nor ever will be simple. It was a worthy move forward, but rushed “disjointed” into law. It is both not enough and too much. It was never “sold” or explained properly, even to this day the majority of Americans do not understand it. The so-called “Ryan” plans for healthcare is also flawed. But clearer and smarter heads needs to prevail here. Too many Americans are being hurt by the delay. Call it my own ignorance, but this must be above politics. A better “system” can be achieved now, not in 2014. It must be the national goal.
