Misc thoughts
-insurance does create shared sacrifice
-insurance is just a layer of administration, way to deny care; patients should decide what they think is right
-insurance/care costs vs. retail prices
-strong subsidy to ensure everyone can pay, everyone can get care, everyone can deal with costly incidents
-generally no relation between job and needing health care,
-gov should provide healthy workers
-like with education, but only funding public
-make sure everyone has fair access
-removes health care from contracts (shouldn't have to bargain over it)
-encourages people to be healthy
gov could compete where there's problems in market
http://www.portlandurbanista.com/?p=2787 (TriMet's costs)
http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2011/04/oregon_senate_approves_bill_to.html#comment-15219049 (competition)
gov-assured (via tax credits or funding), individual accounts (self-insurance):
universal care, removal of insurance layer like left likes,
but individual responsibility, cost control, lack of bureaucracy like right likes
if tax credits, allow them w/tax return
ballot measure:
people w/o insurance can get tax credit/subsidy for contribution to HSA
-sliding scale based on income to not help rich
all gov employees, poor given it instead
-money now spent on their care sent to help cover credits
self-funded agencies would possibly pay fee or send some taxes
money can be borrowed from future tax credit for needed care
gov't gives co-insurance for catastrophic events
gov regulates or negotiates with individual providers, but can't say no
-or have private buying club
additional funding to come first from business tax breaks
private health care funders (businesses) allowed to buy into plan
-would pay income tax & starting (transition) funding
-ideally, plan would cover all people
takes advantage of wyden's provision
Americans seem to be great consumers; this plan would put that to work in health care
"Bottom-up" implementation that doesn't require Congress
Uproot U.S. Healthcare by Deane Waldman ... ADM Books
Balanced politics (?) article
4 different ways Medicare could save: Insurance overhead, preventative care, productivity, bargaining power