Some ideas about healthcare

Previously, I mentioned that I don’t think that the government is going to take over health insurance. In other words it is FUD. I also mentioned that I’m concerned that without regulations that define coverage criteria we will have insurance companies making up reasons not to pay claims. What you will end up with is people with insurance going bankrupt like they are now.



Thinking about it further I can see how taking over the entire health insurance market would result in a situation where it make sense for them to provide health care instead. Paying the medical providers directly in the form of a salary would certainly make more sense than funding some insurance middle man to turn around and pay the providers. Taking out the middle man removes the cost. Of course, like I said before it’s not going to happen.



Since that isn’t going to happen I would like to see a generous benefits package outlined that would be a minimum of what is covered by anyone claiming to sell health insurance. Standardizing a benefits package helps create competition. I’ve seen negotiations for insurance coverage. When the employer talks about lowering the price the insurance company talks about lowering coverage. If you try to go to a different insurance company they give you a different plan that you have to figure out. It’s really hard to get to an apples to apples comparison of plans.



Similarly, I would like for the benefits to just have a coverage percentage, deductable and maximum. Along with this I would like to see language that would allow me to have a supplemental policy to cover all the out of pocket expenses that my current coverage dose not cover.



For all the benefits mentioned above I would like to see a group of people from the health care and health insurance industries come up with standardized coverage criteria for the whole benefits package. I would like the providers of care and health insurance companies to have equal say in the coverage criteria so that you end up with criteria that are reasonable.



I like that it looks like the plans will abolish pre-existing conditions.



I would like for all of my medical records to be available to anyone treating me for anything. If this is handled through some smart chip technology, the internet, or a hybrid of the two doesn’t matter to me. We are no longer in the 1950s. We shouldn’t have a condition where one doctor doesn’t know what the other doctor has done to treat the patient.



That’s the way I see it today.