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Friday, June 30, 2017

3 fixes to Obamacare that the Republicans will never consider

      I know that this is the second time this week I have blogged on the Republican efforts to change Obamacare.  I use the word "change" because I don't see how their plans improve the program in covering more people with health insurance.  So here are the 3 Democrat ideas on improvement that we would be considering if not for the electoral college this past November.
    1) Develop a public option plan along the lines of a Medicare for all plan.  The federal government could use its collective negotiating power to lower healthcare costs the way it does presently for older people in Medicare.   I know critics will say that the Medicare program is going bankrupt but Obamacare added years to the solvency of Medicare.  When Republicans talk about adding competition to the healthcare market they never offer this choice which will have the best chance of bringing real competition to the market.
    2) Coming up with a constitutional way to get all states to expand Medicaid to more low income persons.  The private market place will never be a good place for persons on very limited incomes.
    3) Mandate that everyone purchase health care insurance and provide healthy subsidies to make health insurance affordable for everyone.  The only way the health care pools will ever control costs is for everyone, young and old, healthy and sick, to be included in the pool.  Now the pools tilt too much in the direction of the old and sick.
      Finally, the escalating costs of Obamacare insurance is related to lack of competition (see number 1 and 2 above) and having health care pools bringing in more young and healthy persons (see number 3 above).  Of course the real solution to providing health care is a single payer system and not just reforming Obamacare.  Bernie had it right.

P.S.
     I tried to make the political arguments for not reducing the number of Americans who have health insurance.  What really bothers me is that so many Americans have bought into a political agenda pushed by Trump and conservative Republicans that shows a lack of concern about the well being of other Americans.  How can you in good conscious deny the care that so many others may need because you have values that place more value on tax breaks for millionaires than care for children born in low income families?  By supporting Trump and his values you are as morally impaired as he is and should recognize your lack of a social conscious.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

"By supporting Trump and his values you are as morally impaired as he is and should recognize your lack of a social conscious."

Keep doing what you're doing! I sincerely hope this message of the left is spread far and wide :-)