Last night, President Obama, you asked for a better approach:
“If anyone has a better approach that will bring down premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured, strengthen Medicare for seniors, and stop insurance company abuses, let me know. Let me know. Let me know.”
I’m glad you want to know, and I’m happy to help. (more…)
We really can make health care and health insurance much more affordable for everyone. We can have a system that provides access to health insurance, and increases quality, convenience, and innovation. And we can afford to help those with low income or pre-existing health problems.
We now have a tremendous opportunity to start over, and reform our health insurance system in a way that will really work. The seven factors below will increase consumer involvement and lower costs – and should be a core part of the next health care bill. (more…)
The people in Massachusetts have the most expensive health insurance rates in the country (the average family pays more than $13,000 a year). They also have the longest waits to see a doctor – sometimes up to a year to see a specialist. The system in that state is essentially the model the Democratic leaders have been trying to force on the entire country. And the voters there unsurprisingly soundly rejected it.
This has renewed my faith in the intelligence of the American public, and in the power of our system of government. In voting Scott Brown into Congress, a serious disaster may have been avoided. The proposed plan would have caused insurance rates to skyrocket, and would have no-doubt been MUCH more expensive than proposed. Quality of care would have declined, and health costs would have continued to grow.
But now, we have an opportunity to start over. Not to “fix” the proposed bills, not to pass them piece-meal, but to actually start fresh, with an entirely different approach that will actually work. (more…)
