The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was never really affordable.
The new people who got covered didn’t pay. Most could’ve just been brought under the Medicare/Medicaid umbrella.
The middle class got hammered. Especially people like my mom, who has leukemia. And my monthly payments became $200/month. For a very healthy 26 year old with no prior conditions.
Now, the GOP is trying to figure out how to replace the ACA. I like Rand Paul, so I think Trump would do well to listen to Paul on most matters.
But I doubt the GOP has the guts to propose something truly radical. Which is what we need.
I’d love a single payer healthcare system: paid for by the corporations who’ve been screwing us for decades.
Which we could totally do. Implement a 50% flat corporate tax. I’ve covered this before.
But since they aren’t going to do that, a different and better solution than Obamacare (handjob to insurance companies) would be: eliminating insurance from the equation.
Here’s how to replace the ACA:
Step 1 – Eliminate all forms of health insurance
You go to the doctor – pay for your visit. If you need a colonoscopy, pay for it. Do you need surgery? Put it on your tab.
Healthcare costs so much less in other places because they don’t have insurance companies. They charge what it costs to deliver the service and pay the people. It’s that simple.
Eliminate insurance and costs will plummet. Because the consumer won’t pay out of pocket the ungodly prices they charge for everything today.
Nobody will abuse a system where they have to pay with their own money. No more 20 ER visits/month from a guy who has nothing better to do.
Step 2 – Force transparency
Publish your costs for all to see. A transparent market is a competitive market. Competition will drive prices down. Or quality up. Or both.
There’s too many people dying or getting sicker in hospitals. Publish those stats at each hospital. You decide where to get help. Not your insurance. You’ll go to the hospital that has a better track record of not killing patients.
Hospitals will be forced to get better at treating patients and not harming them. Most errors happen late in shifts – hospitals have people work absurd hours. That’ll stop.
Step 3 – Make it easier for new companies to start and provide services
Opportunity. The beauty of a free market. New companies will come into the space to address the needs of people. They’ll offer services at lower costs to get customers. They’ll increase the quality to pull you away from your current service provider.
Bonus step – end Medicare and Medicaid
Use the trillions of dollars to fund a universal basic income. It would end up being the money people could use for healthcare when they need it.
I’d go through shutting down all sorts of federal departments and replacing it all with the basic income. It’d be more efficient and effective. It’s the solution for a better future. But that’s me. If I were king… I mean President.
But I’m not Trump. I don’t know what’s going to happen.