The Hoboken Tax Reform Coalition
How to Reduce Health Care Costs.
The problem with healthcare in America is not that it’s bad or available, but rather the high cost that makes it unaffordable for 40 million Americans without it and more expensive for everyone else. The question is how do make healthcare more affordable for the 260 million Americans and employers and find a way to add at least 25 million more to the rolls without bankrupting overburdened taxpayers. If we chase the next marginal healthcare widget, costs will spiral upwards. We need to lower costs so we can afford charity care for the remainder. Here are 4 simple ideas that would cost a fraction of the bill in Congress.
1) Tort Reform- Texas and California have enacted tort reform reducing costs by 20%. If you pay $10,000 per year that would save him $2,000 over what he pays today. Additionally this will lower malpractice insurance for doctors. For patients this means doctors will no longer need to perform a myriad of expensive tests and procedures lowering costs further. This will lead to more doctors returning to NJ which has seen an out flow due to high taxes and ever higher malpractice insurance. Added benefit is that future John Edwards’ will not be able to build 20,000 square foot homes for their love children. Better quality and number of physicians will help people like Jack Dawkins who will also see his healthcare bill go down giving him more money to spend as he chooses. Doctors would concentrate on results not covering their butt.
2) Personal Health Savings Accounts- You will be able to place up to $5,000 per year ($10,000 for a family) on a pre-tax basis into his own account. If you are in the 30% tax bracket this is equivalent to $12,500 in cash, because it is a tax credit vs. a deduction. These two simple ideas would save 260 million Americans the equivalent of $10-15,000 ($20-25,000 for a family) per year on their current bills.
3) Competition- Instead of a federal behemoth why not let you buy insurance from any insurer from any state in the country? In NJ there are fewer insurance companies than say PA This due to 2 reasons. First NJ makes you offer every insurance available. Secondly I don’t need everything that NJ mandates. For example my industry offers a low cost health option but NJ is one a few states that won’t let them do it. If you could choose from 200 companies instead a couple of dozen think about how much more you would save.
4) High deductible Catastrophic Insurance- This would particularly help the 20-40 are demographic who I’m sure you do not want to see paying his health insurance, but that’s what the current bill does. This is most healthy age group and part of the subterfuge is to squeeze them. The above idea would make healthcare more affordable to this age group adding millions to the insured rolls.
This plan doesn’t do everything but makes health care much more affordable for 85% of Americans who have insurance. It leads to savings so that we have the ability to handle the 5-7% still left out. HUMC would receive 100% charity reimbursement under this plan without one more tax dollar spent.
1) Tort Reform- Although Jack disagrees Texas and California have enacted Tort reform reducing costs by 20%. If tony pays $10,000 per year that would save him $2,000 over what he pays today. Addidtionaly this will lower malpractice insurance for doctors. For the patient this means doctors will no longer need to perform a myriad of expensive tests and procedures to cover their butt. This will lead to more doctors returning to NJ which has seen a out flow due to high taxes and ever higher malpractice insurance. Added benefit is that future John Edwards will not be able to build their 20,000 sqaure foot homes for their love children. Better quality and number of physicians will help people like Jack Dawkins who will also see see his healthcare bill go down giving him more money to spend as he chooses.
2) Personal Health Savings Accounts- you will be able to place up to $5,000 per year on a pre-tax basis into his own account.
1) Tort Reform- Texas and California have enacted tort reform reducing costs by 20%. If you pay $10,000 per year that would save him $2,000 over what he pays today. Additionally this will lower malpractice insurance for doctors. For patients this means doctors will no longer need to perform a myriad of expensive tests and procedures lowering costs further. This will lead to more doctors returning to NJ which has seen an out flow due to high taxes and ever higher malpractice insurance. Added benefit is that future John Edwards’ will not be able to build 20,000 square foot homes for their love children. Better quality and number of physicians will help people like Jack Dawkins who will also see his healthcare bill go down giving him more money to spend as he chooses. Doctors would concentrate on results not covering their butt.
2) Personal Health Savings Accounts- You will be able to place up to $5,000 per year ($10,000 for a family) on a pre-tax basis into his own account. If you are in the 30% tax bracket this is equivalent to $12,500 in cash, because it is a tax credit vs. a deduction. These two simple ideas would save 260 million Americans the equivalent of $10-15,000 ($20-25,000 for a family) per year on their current bills.
3) Competition- Instead of a federal behemoth why not let you buy insurance from any insurer from any state in the country? In NJ there are fewer insurance companies than say PA This due to 2 reasons. First NJ makes you offer every insurance available. Secondly I don’t need everything that NJ mandates. For example my industry offers a low cost health option but NJ is one a few states that won’t let them do it. If you could choose from 200 companies instead a couple of dozen think about how much more you would save.
4) High deductible Catastrophic Insurance- This would particularly help the 20-40 are demographic who I’m sure you do not want to see paying his health insurance, but that’s what the current bill does. This is most healthy age group and part of the subterfuge is to squeeze them. The above idea would make healthcare more affordable to this age group adding millions to the insured rolls.
This plan doesn’t do everything but makes health care much more affordable for 85% of Americans who have insurance. It leads to savings so that we have the ability to handle the 5-7% still left out. HUMC would receive 100% charity reimbursement under this plan without one more tax dollar spent.
1) Tort Reform- Although Jack disagrees Texas and California have enacted Tort reform reducing costs by 20%. If tony pays $10,000 per year that would save him $2,000 over what he pays today. Addidtionaly this will lower malpractice insurance for doctors. For the patient this means doctors will no longer need to perform a myriad of expensive tests and procedures to cover their butt. This will lead to more doctors returning to NJ which has seen a out flow due to high taxes and ever higher malpractice insurance. Added benefit is that future John Edwards will not be able to build their 20,000 sqaure foot homes for their love children. Better quality and number of physicians will help people like Jack Dawkins who will also see see his healthcare bill go down giving him more money to spend as he chooses.
2) Personal Health Savings Accounts- you will be able to place up to $5,000 per year on a pre-tax basis into his own account.
Views: 5
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Dave Kaplan on -
Scott,
I agree with you that there seem to be good ideas out there other than the current bill being proposed. What I have wondered, and have become frustrated with, is why none of these ideas (especially tort reform) were pushed from 2000 to 2006. The 109th Congress included significant majorities for Republicans, and yet no significant push was made to enact any of these ideas. Unfortunately, the 11th hour ideas are much too late in the game
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Permalink Reply by scott m siegel on
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Dave-- The Republicans never had the 60 vote supermajority now enjoyed by the Democrats in the Senate. The House did pass it but it died via filibuster. Trial lawyers give generously to the Democrats. Of course the Republicans receive funding from opposite interests.
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Permalink Reply by Tony Soares on -
As an unwilling example here Scott, I would like to ask, what do I do if I'm denied?
Besides, $5,000 in pre-taxed accounts has been offered in corporate sector as well and I found it an incredible waste. The problem with healthcare is Insurance companies control the legislation.
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Permalink Reply by Tony Soares on
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Scott after further thought as well as a PRIVATE email to you, I request you delete this discussion or at least take me out of the equation, your assumptions as to my current healthcare is inaccurate as well as a total invasion of PRIVACY.
I have a disability called Achondroplasia, it's a form of dwarfism. I don't consider it a "malady"! (disease or ailment) you see I am not growing, nor is it contagious, so I await the deletion of my name from this fiction.
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Permalink Reply by Dave Kaplan on
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Scott,
I did realize that the Republicans never had a 60 vote majority. I also admit that I didn't really pay that much attention to this issue until the 2008 Election brought it to the forefront.
Perhaps that is part of the problem though. The case was never really made to the public in those years to explain why these changes should happen. Whether one agrees with the current bill (or any of the ideas that have been pushed in 2009), the Democrats have been very successful about communicating the reasons why they think that their version of reform should be implemented.
Perhaps it is my own fault for not paying attention, but I just don't recall any real PR push to enact these changes, and I think that there are probably a majority of people that would at least agree with tort reform. I think the average person would be quite angry to find out how much malpractice attorneys are making at the cost everyone who has health insurance.
Thanks for the response.
scott m siegel said:Dave-- The Republicans never had the 60 vote supermajority now enjoyed by the Democrats in the Senate. The House did pass it but it died via filibuster. Trial lawyers give generously to the Democrats. Of course the Republicans receive funding from opposite interests.
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Incognito Smith:
I think that interstate competition would lessen the fees. Health Insurers rank between 25-35 in industry profitability. Most people would think they are in the top 5.
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Incognito Smith: Did you know that Medicare rejects more procedures than private health care? Ask HUMC about how they get reimbursed by the feds (65-70%) vs. private insurance. An example: My dad was in a nursing home for 2 years. If private insurers were so bad why is that the only a resident with private insurance could get in? If you have only Medicare you are not allowed to be admitted. In fact the ward was 1/2 empty rather than accept federal dollars. Also 50% of doctors only take cash or private insurance. If private insurance is so bad how why is this the situation?
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Incognito; From what I understand Medicare Advantage relates to The Prescription Part D plan designed by the Bush administration. I don't think it covers general health care which is the 800 pound gorilla. Medicare was projected to cost us $12 billion today, but actually costs $110 billion. Medicade was projected at $1 billion and costs $12 billion. Only Medicare Part D is under budget projections, probably because it is run by private industry and not the government. My mom used to import her drugs from Canada. Despite the doom and gloom from the people she votes for (Democrats) I urged her to find out for herself. She now uses Part D and is very satisfied. I'll get you the phone number of the nursing home. Call them and report back whatever you find out.
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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth Markevitch on -
Let me explain # 3 more
In NJ people /companies must buy insurance that covers everything .that is why insurance for a family cost $12,000-$15,000 -if I could go and buy my insurance from another state -it would cost $ 3000.
Almost Everybody in NJ has Cadillac insurance because the State requires insurance to cover all sorts
areas that many people do not need.
People should be able to buy the plan they want
People need to understand that their insurance is money their companies don't pay directly to them .
Would you like to have your company buy insurance for $ 3000 and give you an extra $9000 for your pay?
If this health plan is so great -why doesn't the House and Senate want it? They already have the most expensive plan
and pension plan in the country!!!
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Ingognito: I don't want insurance companies to take over Medicare, I want alternatives via the free market that are not available in NJ plus tort reform etc. The problem with Medicare and Medicaid is they pay less that 100 cents on the dollar and we have to make up for that. Therefore expanding Medicare will increase costs for everyone else.
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Incognito: Are you telling me that the Federal Government is the epitome of efficiency? C'mon look as cash for cloture, bogus zip codes in the "stimulus" bill, checks going to prisoners, etc. Now we have FNMA, FMHLC, car companies and AIG making zero payments and Obama wants the banks who were paying 5% and have paid back 2/3 of their loans to pay for those who can't make even an interest payment. The head of the IRS can't do his own tax return and Geithner can't either.
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Ingonito: Medicare which was supposed to cost us $12bl today and actually costs $110bl today. Can you call that working?
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