Obamacare is the law of the land. And one way or another that is going to change soon. Before I start talking about how the ACA is crashing and burning, I want you to start thinking about the program that will replace it. Tons have been written on the subject, and I have addressed it myself. Let me try to simply the new plan as much as possible.
· You are not going to get health insurance through your employer. The tax breaks for employers will be taken away and they will increase your pay by whatever dollar amount they were contributing.
· Everyone will need a major medical policy. This is health insurance for catastrophic events such as cancer or a car wreck or heart attack. The specifics of the policy will be worked out between you and the insurer. These policies are already available and are MUCH cheaper than current health insurance rates.
· Everyone should have a medical savings account. This is a tax free account like a 401 k that you can use to put money away for future health care needs. These are already available and they work great.
· You will be able to buy insurance across state lines. This will greatly increase competition and drive down rates. Your car insurance is from a nationwide company (sorry Geico), so why shouldn’t your health insurance be the same?
· Congress will enact Tort Reform which will limit the multi-million dollar awards and frivolous lawsuits. They have been discussing tort reform for decades, it’s time to do it.
· Doctors and hospitals should be required to post their rates for various procedures, so people can shop around. They would be allowed to charge less but not more.
· For most routine medical care most people would pay the doctor directly. Colds and Flu are routine events that happen in our lives, and if we need medical care we do not need a middleman taking their cut and cluttering us with bureaucracy.
· If you want comprehensive medical insurance it will be available at market prices. You would pick a plan that meets your needs just like you do with your car insurance. Larger deductibles could bring the cost down considerably.
· We should try to keep the things that people like about Obamacare such as not getting kicked off your insurance for getting sick, insuring children under parents policies until 26, and not being refused insurance for preexisting conditions.
· We must take care of the less fortunate. Medicaid has always been the instrument where we have taken care of the medical needs of the less fortunate, and it should stay in place. There is no separate need for Medicare. We cannot continue to subsidize the health care needs of wealthy older Americans. If they need help there will be Medicaid. I envision transforming Medicaid into Obamacare and letting the IRS run it. So if you are poor you would just need to prove that to the IRS and work with them on your health care needs. Thye rest of America would have private plans.
That is the plan in a nutshell and we all need to get the basic outlines in our heads. We know this will work, and we know for certain it will be better than Obamacare. I did not take 1000 pages and I did not include any Cornhusker Kickback to get Nebraska on board. Yes, there are details to be worked out but this basic plan will work.
Now, but Obamacare is going to work out fine, you say? Take a listen to Chuck Todd on MSNBC.
According to CNN. The popularity of the program keeps dropping.
There are problems with the “navigators” who will be helping everyone sign up.
Unions are not happy and are not supportive.
Apparently certain groups have the ability to “opt-out”.
Some of the tactics the government is planning to use to get us to comply are scary.
Remember how if you liked your health care you could keep it? Not in Tennessee.
Employers are dropping employees off their health care rolls.
My congressman, Blaine Leutkemeyer, shares his thoughts on the upcoming train wreck.
According to congressional reports, rates are going to skyrocket.
And again from MSNBC, there are problems….
Finally, people are poking a lot of fun at the new health care law.
Remember, when people complain that there is nothing to replace Obamacare with, go back to the top of the page. Common sense should work just fine.
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