The Best New Principles for Health Care Reform

[Deadworm]

I'm interested in your reaction to my 2 health care reform proposals:

(1) Reform medical malpractice laws, so that doctors don't have to pay such high insurance premiums and then pass the cost along to their patients. Malpractice victims might receive lesser settlements, but offending doctors would lose their practice. The degree to which malpractice settlements are diminished would need to be debated and balanced. But movement in this direction would save people a bundle in health insurance.

(2) Allow foreign pharmaceutical companies to market their drugs and medications in America at a fraction of the cost charge by big U.S Pharma. So what if this measure drives many drug companies out of business. The cost of drugs for health problems that are prohibitively costly would plummet and the greater public good would be served.

(3) Allow people to buy health insurance across state lines to enhance competitive rates.,

(4) Make Community courts nationally mandatory for U. S. counties. Many U. S. counties currently have such courts that mandate treatment programs for substance abuse cases instead of prison. They also mandate treatment for mental health issues instead of incarceration. Such community courts would feature reformative justice which would ultimately save taxpayers money by diminishing prison population and crime.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

I'm interested in your reaction to my 2 health care reform proposals:

(1) Reform medical malpractice laws, so that doctors don't have to pay such high insurance premiums and then pass the cost along to their patients. Malpractice victims might receive lesser settlements, but offending doctors would lose their practice. The degree to which malpractice settlements are diminished would need to be debated and balanced. But movement in this direction would save people a bundle in health insurance.

(2) Allow foreign pharmaceutical companies to market their drugs and medications in America at a fraction of the cost charge by big U.S Pharma. So what if this measure drives many drug companies out of business. The cost of drugs for health problems that are prohibitively costly would plummet and the greater public good would be served.

(3) Allow people to buy health insurance across state lines to enhance competitive rates.,

(4) Make Community courts nationally mandatory for U. S. counties. Many U. S. counties currently have such courts that mandate treatment programs for substance abuse cases instead of prison. They also mandate treatment for mental health issues instead of incarceration. Such community courts would feature reformative justice which would ultimately save taxpayers money by diminishing prison population and crime.

Which two?

 

[OldWiseGuy]

The best solution to the healthcare problem is.......better health. The more that 'healthcare' and 'insurance' are discussed nationally the less likely that personal responsibility for health will be taken seriously.

 

[Tanj]

I'm interested in your reaction to my 2 health care reform proposals:

(2) Allow foreign pharmaceutical companies to market their drugs and medications in America at a fraction of the cost charge by big U.S Pharma. So what if this measure drives many drug companies out of business. The cost of drugs for health problems that are prohibitively costly would plummet and the greater public good would be served.

So much wrong with this I am having trouble knowing where to begin, but I'll start by saying that many of the drugs available at "a fraction of the cost" are made and sold by the same US pharmas. It's just that Single Payer healtchare systems regulate those costs. Second thing I will say is driving US parma out of business would mean the end of new drug discovery.

 

[dgiharris]

Here is what I propose to help solve the current Health Care problems in America.

#1) Cost Transparency
Right now, there are too many theoretical party platform arguments about Health care when it should be a data and cost driven argument. There should be 100% cost transparency with health care at every level

#2) Government and University involvement in R&D and Costs. If we have 100% cost transparency then companies and if Government assumed the costs of R&D then that dramatically lowers the risk involved in developing new drugs. Similarly, if there were greater collaboration between universities and Pharma companies then that could also aid in the development of useful drugs

#3) Dispelling myths.
Fact is, other countries around the world develop their own medicines and treatments and do so at a fraction of the cost of US medicine. Similarly, US drugs sell for a fraction of the cost in other countries than here in the US. So this notion that drugs and R&D is "so expensive" that it must be paid for by gouging US citizens is a lie and a myth. Otherwise, in effect the argument is saying that US citizens pay for the world's drug developments and that is just not true. And if true, then countries should pay the US government subsidies that would then be passed on to the Pharma companies. Basically, we need to dispel the myths of health care costs

#4) Reducing Lawsuits.
The entire legal industry in regards to medicine needs some serious overhauling. When someone dies in surgery, too often we are too quick to sue. Imo, there should be an independent medical panel that looks into these cases of malpractice and if the board finds there is sufficient cause for a suit THEN a suit should occur.

#5) Increase number of medical schools.
Right now there is an artificial ceiling on the number of doctors produced every year. Every year THOUSANDS of students with 3.8 or higher GPAs and great MRE and MCAT scores are denied entrance into medical school. We want to lower the costs of healthcare then INCREASE the number of doctors and medical professionals.

6) National Health Drives and Programs
Prevention is a fraction of the cost of treatment. Increase awareness and incentivize citizens to live health lifestyles. Maybe offer a 1% tax rebate for all citizens who adhere to a national health standard. Said standard would account for age, disabilities, health conditions, etc.

 

[Tanj]

#3) Dispelling myths.
Fact is, other countries around the world develop their own medicines and treatments and do so at a fraction of the cost of US medicine.

No, we don't. Those few pharmas not US based might as well be. Astra-Zeneca and GSK...I'm looking at you.

6) National Health Drives and Programs
Prevention is a fraction of the cost of treatment. Increase awareness and incentivize citizens to live health lifestyles. Maybe offer a 1% tax rebate for all citizens who adhere to a national health standard. Said standard would account for age, disabilities, health conditions, etc.

Or get a single payer system so that people don't have to choose between going to the doctor and eating.

 

[trunks2k]

I don't understand the selling across state lines things. A health insurance plan needs to set up a network of providers, and they tend to be in the geographic region the plan is sold in. Insurance companies (especially the ones that would be cheap) aren't going to go setting up networks all over the US. So a hypothetical cheap plan sold in North Dakota isn't going to be helpful to someone in a New Jersey suburb of NYC where providers are going to ask for a lot more money. Sure, there may be cases where someone lives just over the border, but I doubt it's all that many people.

Additionally, states ALREADY can allow plans from other states to be sold. Only a few opt to.

 

[dgiharris]

I don't understand the selling across state lines things.

It is one of those things that "sound" good but in reality isn't that realistic.

There is too much "invisible hand" economics in the GOP solution of letting the free market handle health care and the whole "sell across state lines" is one of them.

When I buy car insurance from an out of state provider, it's not like that provider charges me the rates of their state. NO. They look at the state I'm in, the statistics, the costs of repairs in that state and then they ADJUST their charges accordingly.

Why would health insurance magically be different?

The whole "sell across state line" bit by the GOP is just one of those things that sounds good but when you lift up the hood and give it a closer look, you see it's just a bunch of nothing

 

[LoAmmi]

I'm interested in your reaction to my 2 health care reform proposals:

(1) Reform medical malpractice laws, so that doctors don't have to pay such high insurance premiums and then pass the cost along to their patients. Malpractice victims might receive lesser settlements, but offending doctors would lose their practice. The degree to which malpractice settlements are diminished would need to be debated and balanced. But movement in this direction would save people a bundle in health insurance.

It's a tricky line to walk though. If someone messes up your medical procedure, you would probably want the right to take them to court. I get that malpractice insurance is high and some people sue unnecessarily, so I like the idea but there would have to be a lot of details.

(2) Allow foreign pharmaceutical companies to market their drugs and medications in America at a fraction of the cost charge by big U.S Pharma. So what if this measure drives many drug companies out of business. The cost of drugs for health problems that are prohibitively costly would plummet and the greater public good would be served.

I don't think this would work as you foresee because a lot of who you can buy drugs from has to do with who holds the patent. If a US company holds it, no matter how many foreign companies are allowed to market, the price doesn't go anywhere because those foreign companies can't sell it.

(3) Allow people to buy health insurance across state lines to enhance competitive rates.,

Here's what would quickly happen if you put this in place:
Companies all consolidate in the state that offers them the best advantages in terms of taxes and regulations. Now every US citizen buys insurance from that one state. Probably Delaware. So, unless you really want all health insurance to be based out of Delaware, this doesn't do much.

(4) Make Community courts nationally mandatory for U. S. counties. Many U. S. counties currently have such courts that mandate treatment programs for substance abuse cases instead of prison. They also mandate treatment for mental health issues instead of incarceration. Such community courts would feature reformative justice which would ultimately save taxpayers money by diminishing prison population and crime.

I love this idea.

 

[mark46]

I don't understand the selling across state lines things. A health insurance plan needs to set up a network of providers, and they tend to be in the geographic region the plan is sold in.

When states have one or no providers, it would useful if an insurance provider could sell is product from a neighboring state, the same geographic area. If states choose not to, shame on them.

The Republican solution is for the federal government to specifically allow such sales. The Democratic solution is to have a federal default option available to everyone.

 

[jayem]

I'm interested in your reaction to my 2 health care reform proposals:

(1) Reform medical malpractice laws, so that doctors don't have to pay such high insurance premiums and then pass the cost along to their patients. Malpractice victims might receive lesser settlements, but offending doctors would lose their practice. The degree to which malpractice settlements are diminished would need to be debated and balanced. But movement in this direction would save people a bundle in health insurance.

It's not a bad idea, but it won't lower costs that much. The last comprehensive study of which I'm aware was from back in 2008. It estimated damage claims, and defensive medicine costs at over $55 billion. Which is a sizeable sum, but only 2.4% of total health care expenses. I don't think that percentage-wise, it's much different today. Actually, it may be less as some states have enacted tort reform. Which is the other issue. The vast majority of medical liability cases are filed in state courts. Congress has no authority to modify state tort proceedings. This has to be done by each state individually. Though Congress might be able to regulate claims against pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers. These products are sold nationwide, so Congress might have jurisdiction under the interstate commerce clause. Congress already did this for vaccine manufacturers.