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DesideriScuri -> RE: What is the solution? (11/15/2013 3:55:41 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: BenevolentM
I myself am not all that thrilled with how ObamaCare was implemented. It was just so funky. The Republican party, however, had no plan of their own unless you consider the plan the Democrats advanced was the Republican plan. The Republican party's plan appears to be to have no plan. So I'm asking, what then is the solution? Is this nothing more than a Sadomasochistic game being played out on the American people?
ObamaCare is like mandatory auto insurance, but some how isn't. So transportation is a luxury and isn't akin to respiration. Then there is the carbon tax which is a tax on respiration. It is like pass the pot. After you have inhaled enough, it will all begin to make sense.
The only thing that did make sense was that the Democrats had a plan and the Republicans didn't.
Auto insurance and home insurance are, essentially, catastrophic policies. Generally, they don't cover the more "everyday" things like oil changes, filter changes, tire rotations, etc. When you have an accident, you pay your deductible, and the insurance pays the rest, up the limits of the policy. That is, it is there to help you afford the cost of fixing their and/or your vehicle if you're in an accident. Your deductible, then, will likely go up, as you now present a greater risk of payout for the insurer.
Health insurance, as it is today, isn't a catastrophic-only plan. Health insurance covers everything, generally. Your simple well-care visit? Covered, after your co-pay. Prescriptions? Covered, after your co-pay. If health insurance was more of a "catastrophic care" plan, it would be less expensive.
The problem is, health care has gotten ridiculously expensive. Now, you can't pay for the care out of pocket unless you have very deep pockets. Insurance, then, steps in and helps pay for everything. What happens when health care costs rise to the point you have insurance being so expensive? Government tries to intervene, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, depending on how it goes about it. Simply throwing taxpayer money at the insurance companies is a great way for everyone to have insurance, but that doesn't actually get at the root of the problem: health care costs.
Sure there will be efficiencies that reduce the overall, aggregate cost of care (like managing a condition prior to it becoming a full-blown disease). But, that, still, doesn't get at the root of the problem. I can't state that for 100% of all procedures, care costs are a lot higher in the US than anywhere else, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was true. Costs for procedures and services are ridiculous here, compared to elsewhere. Obamacare doesn't get to the root of that.
I'm not sure of the total solution, but there are steps that can be taken. The issue has to be dealt with at the cost of services and procedures level. Lower those costs, and you'll lower insurance costs. Lower them enough, and you'll have more people capable of affording the "everyday" thing out of pocket, relegating insurance for the costlier medical issues (ie. more akin to catastrophic coverage), which will reduce that coverage.
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