I think, Tim, that sooner or later we will have to give up on the egalitarian principle of a single standard of care. It sounds nice, but no nation on earth can afford to treat a person on welfare and a millionaire the same way. It's just too expensive, and keeps becoming more so. We tried, for a long time - and it doesn't work. Sorry, I wish it would, but it doesn't.
What will need to evolve, IMO, is a double system. One would be run by the government and paid for through taxes. It would have to be very basic and cheap. BUT - everyone would have basic healthcare available. One idea, which I found intriguing, was to convert the entire existing VA Healthcare network to provide basic care to poor people, while folding the veteran care into the general system. I can't comment on the feasibility of this, but it's an out of the box option.
As for the rest of healthcare -- deregulate it to the max. Cut government involvement by 90%, down to very basic regulation and monitoring.
Encourage voluntary charity organizations, which could help upgrade services to the poor, in some cases.
My guess is that most people would like best plans with sizable deductibles. But - there should be no restrictions, and a great variety of plans.
Market forces and competition would allow us to have the best healthcare in the world - and reasonably priced. We would, once again, become a great attractor for medical tourism -- rather than a source of tourists. |
