So, it is not illegal to pay for medical services directly in cash, without any tax relief. "
It appears that your correct on that point you can pay cash, to any doctor, but it looks like the treatments and prices would have been centrally managed.
You have a a "'national quality management program' to oversee the quality of health care services", "enforcement of public and private spending limitations at the national and state level".
Also
"Powerful standby price controls also are contained in the Plan. States are permitted, even encouraged, to run every element of health care through state monopolies known as "single payer" systems. Under the Plan, the growth in health care spending is to be forcibly racheted down, year by year, until it is in line with the growth of inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), by 1999. "
"And if doctors are in a fee-for-service plan, it will be fee-for service in name only: state governments and the alliances can tell them what fees to charge. "
"a doctor may not charge or collect from a patient a fee in excess of the fee schedule adopted by a state government or an alliance"
and there is something about "reasonable pricing" of prescription drugs, not sure whether that directly means price controls, but there would seem to be some political pressure or control on drug prices
Maybe not explicit control directly from this act, on the other hand it seems that had the bill passed things would have been heading that way
"Monitoring breakthrough drug prices
The National Board is not authorized to set drug prices. Under Section 1503(i) of Title I, however, the Board is to establish a special committee of its own membership called the "Breakthrough Drug Committee." While the legislative draft language is unclear on a specific set of responsibilities, it appears that this special Board committee is to coordinate its efforts with a new "Advisory Council on Breakthrough Drugs," to be appointed by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
The Council, in turn, is to monitor the prices of new "breakthrough" drugs and determine whether the initial prices are "reasonable." In the language of Section 1572 of Title I, a "breakthrough drug" is a drug considered to be a "significant advance over existing therapies." The Council is to investigate drug prices at the request of the Secretary of HHS if the Secretary thinks that the price may be "unreasonable." If the Council thinks that a price is unreasonable, after examining such data as other countries' drug prices, cost information supplied by the company, the projected volume of the prescriptions, "economies of scale," "product stability," "special manufacturing requirements and research costs," the Council tells the Secretary of HHS, and the Secretary can issue an official report to that effect.18 The bill language does not give either the Council or the National Health Board explicit powers to roll back a price, however. "
(quotes from heritage.org ) |
