Dying For Insurance: Ideas are easy; the problem is with a plan

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Ideas are easy; the problem is with a plan

On the eve of the President's speech to the Joint Session of Congress, it is apparent that we all have been drawn into a contentious debate about nothing. We now have 3 bills out of the House and 2 potential bills out of the Senate. Also, there was a Republican bill in the House that was not voted upon.
This is what happens when no one takes control of getting sides together to get something passed. If the President does not reign in the Liberals and the Republicans allow the hyperbole, nothing will change. Maybe some of you are OK with that, but most Americans believe that Healthcare Reform of some kind is necessary. We just can't agree on how. Maybe it is time to get what most of us agree upon right now. The Public Option will not pass both the House or Senate, so we should make other changes that are less costly and will have some immediate impact.
Insurance companies must be allowed to compete across state lines. All people must be accepted by Insurance companies regardless of pre-existing conditions and the policies cannot be canceled due to any illness or change in employment. Coverage and deductibles must be clearly stated and the allowed payment for procedures be posted on the Internet (this will replace the meaningless term, "Reasonable and Customary").
Medicare cannot continue at the current spending levels and the answer is not in further reducing the payment to doctors and other providers. Most people are happy with Medicare coverage, but the doctors are grossly underpaid and will be unable to continue at the current compensation levels. It makes more sense to charge more for Medicare using means testing than reducing what is covered. It has far better coverage than any plan in the private sector and a higher premium would be more palatable to the public. Also, the government should negotiate with drug companies for the price of medications for Medicare and Medicaid.
Tort reform and malpractice insurance must be addressed; it is not even mentioned in the current plans.
Small business and individuals must be allowed to purchase insurance at group rates and any costs for insurance coverage must be tax deductible. There could be subsidies for those who cannot afford insurance to allow for the uninsured to purchase coverage.
These changes could be made quickly and would give us the opportunity to find out if the private sector has the discipline to control costs without sacrificing the system. The above changes are areas upon which both parties could agree and we can leave the Public Option debate for the next election cycle.
It will be interesting to see tonight if President Obama can show some leadership and go for something which is more pragmatic and practical in making corrections to the system.
Nothing is not better than anything and anything is not better than nothing.

TVP tvp@dyingforinsurance.com