I read through these posts this morning and admire the thoughtful and friendly expression of opinion. What I have not read is any ideas for solutions to the cost of health care. Availability of care is not an issue. Emergency rooms in the USA must examine and treat everyone who claims illness, real or not. People don't die here because of refused claims either. They can and will be treated. The question is who pays the bill and how much does it cost.
The solutions to this question in my opinion don't require more government but less. The answer is not more insurance but less. Self employed people have the option of a medical savings plan that allows for high deductible insurance at low cost along with a checking account that is used to pay for standard care. All costs are tax deductible and the rollover in the account are there to grow tax free in perpetuity. This gives the individual the ability to negotiate charges before care is given.
If this opportunity was offered every citizen of this country we could take back control of our health care and the costs involved. If people who currently have employer provided health insurance took a pay raise instead of the insurance and were allowed to buy a MSP they would be far ahead financialy and in control of their care.
Many Americans have also been brainwashed into thinking that if they don't have health insurance some calamity will befall them. Stop and think about how much you personaly have spent on health insurance in the last ten years and compare it to what the care you have required would have cost out of pocket. Health insurance has become some sort of safety blanket, the lack of which causes some sort of uneasiness in many people.
Another possible solution is a return to states rights where the Federal government relinquishes the power of taxation back to the states where it belongs. In this scenario every state would have the ability to establish its own system of health care if it so chose and every citizen would have the option of picking a state to live in that suited there own ideal.
I know these ideas are long shots at best but maybe they are something to work from. The most important things to do in my opinion are to remove the power and influence from the insurance industry, take control of your own health care and leave government out of the equation.
One last qeustion for everyone to chew on. What would happen if a groundswell of people gutsy enough to to take a risk for their own independence dropped their health insurance? Or quit paying their Federal taxes. Change can happen but not by itself.
Peter