My ideas on how to save healthcare

I am not a doctor. I am not a politician. I am just a guy with above average intelligence (or not, you can decide )

At work today we were discussing potential "cures" for this healthcare mess. Obamas' paln was out the window. Why throw the baby out with the bath water?
But I see few other suggestions. So I decided to come up with a few of my own. These might seem terrible, but might also trigger ideas you may have.

I do agree something has to be done. Just, how are we going to do it?

1. Increase insurance rates massively. This will stop people from abusing the system. Constant visits, non-emergency visits, non-critical surgeries.
Remember when going to the doctor was a once a year thing, if that? Lets go back to that by making it so expensive, it is not a casual thing anymore.

2. Stop treating illegal aliens. Get a citizenship, get a job, then we'll see you. This is nothing but a huge 'black hole' on our already depleting healthcare system. It's heartless, it might be considered cruel. Sorry, who said life was easy?

3. Local systems. Live in a neighborhood with a doctor? Start your own system. Why pay for an office a thousand miles away when the MD is right next door?

4. Pay as you go. Using the system we have now, try paying out of pocket even if you have insurance. It might even be cheaper. It will 'self-inhibit' yourself from going to the doc when you might not really need to go. There are so many things we can do on our own that requires no intervention of an MD.

It may be harsh. It may sound cruel. But look at what the government it recommending.

Your comments are appreciated.

[edit on 28-7-2009 by mikerussellus]

1. I dont like, how will people be able to afford insurance if you increase them dramatically?
2. I like
3. could have potential on a local level. Might be beneficial to the community.
4.pay as you go would be expensive. You ever take kids to the dr?
a few tests, shots, cost you hundreds of dollars. This would also be bad because people would put off or even stop going to the dr for care because they dont want to spend money, when they could have gone earlier and caught a problem that could have been treated.

I've been thinking about this too. I keep hearing how digitizing the entire health care system and expanding home care would cut down on all the costs, insurance and medicine related in any way. And although I don't think you should turn away a woman in labor because she can't prove her citizenship, I think there should be some encouragement to accompany all full-time jobs with a basic health insurance package and allow workers to customize it according to their salary. Why can't legislators catch on to this sort of thing? Their solutions seem to involve either "slap insurers on the hands" or "pay lots of money for zero improvement."

Thanks for your comments. Even if all my ideas are bunk, if we get the idea going that we DON'T just have to rely on government for all our needs, then we're on the right path.

Mike

I would think that the costs of medical care would come down a lot if doctors weren't getting slapped with petty lawsuits left and right. Crack down on frivolous lawsuits so the doctors aren't worried about getting sued every time they see a patient, then they won't have to pay so much for malpractice insurance, and then they won't have to charge as much as they do for care. It wouldn't completely fix the problem, but it would certainly help.

reply to post by Jenna


Good point, but that would require tort reform. And that won't happen as long as lawyers predominate in DC.

reply to post by mikerussellus


True. There's too much money in it for them.

1. Increase insurance rates massively.
I am shocked at how much some families must pay already! Agree that Americans need to learn when and when not to visit a doctor. Elective surgery should not be a part of any insurance. Whether it is for private or public payment, these corrections are indeed necessary.

2. Stop treating illegal aliens.
Medical care must be given, even at a minimal level, to any human being. Businesses need to stop hiring illegal workers. If people are here living beyond visas, not necessarily working, that needs to be taken care of.

3. Local systems.
The GOP plan believes that buying insurance out of state would save money. Americans need an insurance plan, not job based, that they can use anywhere.

4. Pay as you go.
Deductibles are so high for many Americans, that this amounts to essentially the same thing. When one pays $110 for a 10 minute wait in a dedicated waiting room for cancer treatment, I doubt most people could pay that out of pocket.

Americans have been encouraged to "take more of their health care in their own hands" by...tada!...asking for, no demanding, pills and treatments they see in tv advertisements, whether they need them or not! There was one doctor in town who always had her prescription pad in hand, ready to hand out an RX for anything her patients demanded.

Americans have been demanding more and more non-essential items to be paid from their health insurance. I can remember when chiropractors were not covered; now these visits include massages or items not truly needed for the care, when push comes to shove. I blame the profession, although some may say they have to offer these services/items to stay in business...then something is wrong.

One insurance plan I heard of had to stop paying for certain procedures (for obesity), because they were paying out more to treat side affects/what went wrong than they were for the procedure.

I noticed a commercial for the snack food industry lately, trying to get sympathy from people to contact their congressman if anyone tries to tax their products! Criminy! They show a family camping, getting ready to enjoy a treat of a soda/juice drink! That is not typical of how such crap junk food is used these days, unlike when such products were first used YEARS AGO.

Nowadays many children, teens, adults have such unhealthy non-food items as a substitute for water or juice, drinking it morning, noon, and night! Any wonder fast food places like to be placed near high schools?! Any wonder our young people are already overloading the health care system with problems due to being overweight?! Years ago, I could count on one finger a classmate who was overweight.

When Americans don't get the exercise they need, that's also a recipe for a health disaster. Walk, don't ride...well, at least climb stairs and park further from an entrance.

And consider the elderly's (or anyone for that matter) quality of life. Don't keep grandma "alive" when she doesn't want to. Years ago babies born who were not going to live long were allowed to die right after birth, not kept alive by extraordinary means. We may want to take every measure to save every severely premature baby, but at what cost, both in dollars and quality of life?

Years ago, I heard this anecdotal about how the cost of open heart surgeries was first determined. Doctors gave an outrageous price, thinking insurance companies would never pay it...they did. So, Americans are getting the high cost of health care, because it's allowed.

reply to post by desert

Good points.
Thanks for your reply.