Health Care solutions

[Colby Eggleston]

I list below my 5-point recommendation on how to improve health care in America without having another government bureaucracy overseeing our personal decisions.
1. Immediately stop providing free medical care to non-US citizens in our emergency rooms. Currently, this practice is costing numerous billions of dollars every year. California estimates that their unreimbursed cost for health care of illegal immigrants is $1.4 billion. Texas estimates their cost at $1.6 billion. The cost has forced numerous hospitals throughout the country to close their doors completely. This has an obvious negative effect on the communities of the areas that were served by these hospitals.
2. Streamline the process for drugs and other treatments to come through the FDA to market. The 3 phase review process the FDA uses to grant approval to drugs in the United States can take as long as 8 years, and cost millions of dollars. The costs associated with navigating this labyrinth is passed directly on to consumers. Such large investments of money and resources become a prohibitive barrier for the introduction of quality treatments by all but the largest pharmaceutical companies, and helps keep competitors out of the market. Competition would reduce the cost of drugs, but the largest savings would come from simply reducing the R&D costs by making approval a more efficient process.
3. Encourage the use of Medical Savings Accounts. There have been numerous reports of individuals accumulating staggering amounts of medical care costs because they are able to go to the doctor or hospital anytime they want with no cost to them. Not only does this put an unnecessary burden on the health care system, it also increases the cost for insuring all other members of a health care plan. People who are paying their own money for care are much more likely to shop around for more affordable treatments, and be more judicious in going to the doctor for minor illnesses. In conjunction with catastrophic injury and illness coverage, Medical Savings Accounts have proven to be a good way of controlling medical costs. This tax-free savings account can be used to pay for the doctor’s bills and prescriptions without having to go through the insurance company. Most doctors already give a reduced price for people who do not use insurance, as it is easier for them to take the money and not spend all the time and energy necessary to get reimbursed. When people are using money from their own account, they are much more frugal in how they spend the funds than any bureaucrat will be.
4. Reform tort law. One of the largest costs for health care providers is malpractice insurance. Like all overhead costs, this cost is passed down to the consumer. While I do strongly believe that doctors must be held accountable for negligence or incompetence, that does not necessarily translate into the tort system we currently have. Too many have heard of enormous awards being given to plaintiffs, and seek to get their own portion of "jackpot justice". Represented by attorneys eager to get their own portion of the fortune, these people look for any opportunity to bring a lawsuit against their health care providers. Rather than give the entire award to the plaintiff, successful plaintiffs should only receive their actual monetary damages plus "reasonable" pain-and-suffering awards. The punitive damages that are accessed against a guilty health care provider can be reinvested into the health care system.
5. Tax reform. While not usually mentioned in the discussion on health care, taxes are integral to all aspects of American life. Everything becomes relatively less expensive when you have more of your own money in your own pocket. Preferably by means of the Fair Tax, we need to get the money back in the hands of the people that earned it. They are the best stewards of their own money, and will ultimately spend the money on the things that are most important to them.

[What Impact]

Medical Savings Accounts are great if you are rich; how about the poor?

Reform tort law? Okay, fine. Screw the plaintiffs who have catastrophic injuries and who can only suck juice from a straw or change the TV channel by blowing into a straw. Cap those damages! YOU ARE A REPUBLICAN!

If an illegal alien is in our emergency room with a gashing wound that is bleeding profusely, send his tail to Mexico right then! Compassion is required. I do not like granting citizenship to babies of illegal aliens and I support stronger immigration enforcement.

I see nothing about increasing competition for prescription drugs. How about supporting a law to allow the purchase of drugs from Canada and elsewhere?

I don't think I'll be able to support you. Sorry.

[Colby Eggleston]

To answer your points, tort reform, as many, including myself, envision it, does not cap legitimate damages from being awarded to the plaintiff. I strongly believe that doctors need to be held accountable for their errors, and if that ends up ending the career of a incompetent doctor, I have no problem whatsoever with that. Where the problem comes in is with the awarding of punitive damages. By the very nature of being "punitive", these are designed to punish the wrongdoer. Punishing error is not the same thing as making the plaintiff unbelievably rich. I understand that their should be reasonable compensation for pain and suffering. First, I think that we should stop making people famous for becoming wealthy through lawsuits. That encourages lawyers and potential litigants to bring ridiculous suits on the off chance that they will hit the justice jackpot. Additionally, these gold-digging litigants should be forced to bear the cost of defending against baseless suits. Legitimate victims should be given their due compensation, but the present system is set up to drive ever-increasing payments to unworthy frauds.

Medical savings accounts are just as appropriate for the poor as they are for the rich. Employers can just as easily fund a MSA as they can a traditional health care plan. For those who cannot gain employment that offers this benefit, since we recognize the need to protect our weakest citizens, funding a MSA up to the deductible for a catastrophic policy, typically $5,000, would be approximately cost approximately $55 billion to cover the 11 million people that are actually uninsured in the United States (taking out the illegals, the rich who choose not to be employed, and the young who choose not to be employed, plus those Medicaid-eligible who do not sign up).

Life-threatening injuries may be addressed for anyone, but those illegals that present themselves for care need to be handled as the criminals that they are, not released with no consequences whatsoever after adding an additional cost to the good people that are paying for their care the legal way.

Finally, concerning your assertion that I have not outlined anything that would add to competition for prescription drugs, revisit point #2 above. We do not gain from mere price competition, by buying from foreign suppliers. If that was the case, we would force everyone to go to Wal-mart for their food stamp purchases, medical purchases, etc. based on nothing other than the cost. By allowing smaller, innovative companies freer access to the market, the better drugs that are brought to the market will force down competing drug prices. My plan also preemptively deals with the high cost of drugs by lowering the development costs across the board. That being the case, there would not be nearly as great a need to shop in Canada to take care of our own citizens.

[lighteredknot]

You might not like it but you are responsible for your health, not others. If you cannot afford health care for yourself why do you have children? Accept your responsibility, and address the reality that others are not your caretakers, find some maturity when you look in a mirror. Life is tough, and then you die, you better save some of each dollar you earn for tough times because tough times will come.

[Valdostan]

My God!! A voice of reason. Amen to those statements.