Obama Wants Your Health Care Reform Ideas

I think the U.S. should take an approach to healthcare reform that lies somewhere between the current free market system and that of a nationalized plan, such as British healthcare.  Take the strong points from each program and create a hybrid version.  Allow all Americans to be covered under a nationalized plan for basic and preventative healthcare needs.  Do not penalize those on the nationalized plan that are fortunate enough to carry private insurance.  Allow that insurance to compliment nationalized healthcare, utilizing it to expedite certain services or cover drugs and procedures that may not yet be approved under the nationalized plan.  The British plan fails to accomplish this, often forcing consumers to choose between receiving nationalized coverage or declining that coverage in order to receive “cutting edge” life-saving treatments for certain cancers and critical care procedures.  As a result, these individuals “caught in the middle” have to mortgage their homes and lose any hope of a financially secure future just to receive necessary treatments which the bureaucratic nationalized system has yet to approve.  Bureaucracy kills in cases such as this.  Although many are citing the inability of the government to fund such a program, the overall savings and decline in healthcare costs will come, as all Americans would now be able to take preventative measures when addressing health, as opposed to waiting for a medical crisis to arise.  What about the economic boost to the U.S. economy when healthcare becomes accessible to everyone?  Although margins may be smaller, the sheer volume of services rendered would allow organizations to not only survive, but thrive in this environment.  A balance would exist, as private insurance would be alive and well, and serve as a compliment to a fixed profit national healthcare system.  The free market portion of the plan will provide the funding necessary for continued research and development, while the nationalized portion will provide the profits necessary for continued operations.

 In our endeavor to overhaul our nations Health Care systems, we should consider gett.ing rid of the "NO BID CONTRACTS' in our Medicare Prescription Drug programs, and have one similar to the Veterans Administrations, the Military and Government Employees. This alone would save millions of dollars for our treasury, and help alleviate cost of drugs for our Seniors who use Medicare part "D" prescription  Drugs.