I believe that someone such as the Surgeon General should determine what a basic health plan (driven by public health care policies) should be. Once such a basic plan is determined all health insurance companies will be required to provide the provisions of such plan to any United States citizen. Insurance companies would be allowed to charge whatever price they determined is equitable but they would have to charge all of their customers the same price, though each company would differ in price. Everyone would get a tax credit that covers most of the cost of the premiums for the basic plan and be required to buy the basic plan before buying optional health insurance. Along with this basic policy for everyone the paperwork would be standardized across all insurance companies, hospitals and health care providers.
Since the insurance company has to charge each one of its customers the same price they can advertise the price on radio, television, print advertising creating a competitive market. Since the basic plan is the same, consumers will be able to compare the base rate and optional coverage easier. This would eliminate insurance companies from refusing people for insurance for the basic plan. However, insurance companies could charge accordingly and set their own guidelines for optional insurance. Also government can help the poor with their premiums.
Comments (2)
If you want private health care, go for it. I want the choice. Medicare overhead is 3% while private insurers average about 35% after the execs scrap off their billions off the top. All other first world countries in the world have decent health care but the U.S. because here we let the health care industry pay for our government.
rouen2010
I think my plan would reduce overhead, other countries have private plans with very low overhead and canada's health care system is 2nd most costly on the planet next to us. It is not private vs public but wasteful vs not wasteful. What would Bush have done to a public system. I go with a only one public health system if you make sure we never again get someone like Bush.