What Form will Health Care Take Now ?

It’s no secret that a large segment of our society has been shut out of quality Miami health care because of the high cost. Every day there are children, men and women denied health care because they cannot afford it and yet aren’t destitute enough to qualify for a government subsidy or other program. Something needs to be done, but what form would the final product take?

Modeling Health Care after Medicare

Early in his term, our president granted COBRA recipients reduced premiums. COBRA allows people who have lost their jobs to continue their health care benefits but they are liable for the premiums, which can be quite costly. This stop gap measure helped a large portion of the newly unemployed but everyone knew that more was needed to make health care affordable to everyone.

Medicare, coverage usually offered to people over the age of 65, and operates on a fee schedule for services and procedures. Participants have co-payments and deductibles based on their income that help fund the program. Modeling health care reform after Medicare is a good start to making a financially viable program that will allow everyone access to medical services.

Competition Will Reduce Costs

By using the Medicare model for health care reform, there would be healthy competition among private insurance programs for those that could afford it. Most Medicare recipients have supplemental plans that pick up the excess costs that Medicare does not pay and this works out well for the vast majority of those enrolled in the program. Private insurance companies could either offer individual policies or supplemental ones.

Because the government would have a fee schedule, costs might eventually be lowered and settle into more affordable charges than we have now.

Everyone Would Have Insurance

One of the problems with the Miami health care industry at this time is their rejection of people with pre-existing health conditions. Insurance companies are independent businesses and have a right to serve whomever they chose but that leaves a lot of the population without insurance. In addition, policies are written in such a convoluted way that the insured may not understand exactly what is covered and be denied coverage for an expensive and life-threatening illness.

The government insurance program would accommodate these people in some manner or form. High risk cases could be distributed throughout the public program insurance base and that of private companies to spread the cost around. While this might set a dangerous precedent of the government dictating to and regulating business as well as violating the Constitutional rights of private enterprise, it’s just one of several options being considered.

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