The Republican’s Solution to Health Care Reform – More Freedom?
I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.~ Thomas Jefferson
Is it any doubt that the mainstream media is covering up the Republican’s solution to health care reform in this country? With the Democrat’s solution representing 1.5 trillion in taxpayer costs, producing a massive centralized government to control 1/6th of our economy, wouldn’t it be wise as Americans to examine other solutions?
Indeed there are other solutions, but sadly these solutions are not being reported by the ’state-run’ media complex. Today it seems any solution that is based on more liberty and freedom for the people is suppressed. All we hear about is the left wing government solutions proposed by Nancy Pelosi and her minions, that essentially remove our freedoms and places them in the hands of bureaucrats in Washington.
If you were wondering, there is a conservative solution that is being circulated through Congress by House Republicans. This solution is based on freedom and choice, and puts health care partially back into the hands of individuals and families – not government.
Nina Owcharenko from the Heritage Foundation reports below…
Republicans in Congress are making yet another major attempt to reform the health care system, going in a very different direction from the expensive health reform bills proposed by Democrats. Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) is set to introduce his Improving Health Care for All Americans Act, which seeks to control costs while promoting greater health insurance portability and choice. The bill offers three main provisions: offer tax relief for those who don’t have employer-sponsored insurance or don’t like their current work place coverage, establish new pooling arrangements for individuals, and facilitate mechanisms for the state to address high cost individuals.
Tax credits – The Shadegg bill acknowledges that those employees who like their workplace coverage can keep it and continue to enjoy tax exclusion on health benefits. However, there are others who don’t like their employer’s coverage or don’t have access to employer-provided insurance. Tax credits are given to these people, allowing them to go out and buy private plans that best suit their needs. This presents Americans with greater flexibility to choose plans that they like and increased affordability of insurance.
Individual Membership Associations (IMAs). – Today’s mobile workforce illustrates one of the disadvantages of employer-based coverage. Every time you change jobs or leave the workforce, you lose your coverage. The concept of IMA put forth in the Shadegg bill would give Americans more choices, greater stability, and the same pooling benefits of traditional employer based coverage. Everyday organizations that people belong to, such as church groups and service organizations, could form IMAs. These IMAs would negotiate with private insurance companies, like employers do today, to offer discounted plans tailored for their members.
Risk-adjustment Mechanisms. – The Shadegg bill aims to encourage and bolster state efforts to develop mechanisms that will address the difficulties facing Americans with high health care costs. Risk adjustment mechanisms, such as high risk pools, are an important feature for a consumer-centered health care system, but should also be mindful to limit taxpayer exposure. A well-designed risk adjustment mechanism gives health plans the right incentives to provide better value to both healthier and sicker enrollees.
The Shadegg bill offers yet another conservative alternative to reform proposals put forth by President Obama and the leaders in Congress. Unlike President Obama’s plan, which depends on centralizing health care decisions in Washington, the Shadegg bill would put personal health care decisions back in the hands of individuals and families. It would address the major challenges facing the current health care system by promoting increased choice, affordability, and access, while placing control over insurance plans in the hands of the real customer – the patient.
The Republican plan focus on 3 key issues that will not only lower costs in health care, but will also keep health care in the hands of the people, without wasting their tax money on a massive government health care system that will not work. The plan’s key parts is broken down below.
Tax Credits
Tax Credits will allow people who are currently purchasing insurance privately to write this income off on their taxes, and there by lower their taxable income. It would essentially be a private Health Savings Account that is not taxed. This will provide greater income to the individual and increase their freedom to purchase an insurance plan that best fits their family’s needs. In addition, it would provide more competition amongst the 1,100 existing insurance companies in the US by giving more individuals the opportunity to consider purchasing insurance privately.
Individual Membership Associations
Individual membership associations would allow Americans who purchase insurance privately to group with other individuals and families so that they can negotiate lower rates. It would essentially allow self employed workers, college students, and small businesses to negotiate with insurance companies with the same leverage as large corporations. This would greatly increase competition amongst insurance companies and lower overall health care costs.
Risk Adjustment Mechanisms
Risk Adjustment Mechanisms would create pools of individuals who are at a higher risk to insurance companies due to their medical or health history. (hence are more costly to insure.) The object of these state mechanisms is to reduce the costs of insuring these individuals amongst private insurance companies, without financing them through tax payer dollars. Essentially, by grouping high risk individuals together, it spreads the costs amongst many participants. This lowers the risk to private insurance companies, and allows high risk customers to access better health care coverage at lower prices, without forcing tax payers to fund it.
Conclusion
The end result of conservative reforms to health care is increased choice and access to health insurance by individuals. It will not only allow Americans to keep more of their income, but will lower costs in the health insurance industry by increasing competition.
Isn’t it obvious that the best reforms always fall back on solutions that increase our freedom? Maybe our lawmakers should take the advice of our founding fathers and reject any solution that removes the liberties of it citizens, and replaces them with government control.
“We base all our experiments on the capacity of mankind for self-government.” James Madison
