How To Have Better, More Affordable Health Care

There are many good ideas out there about health care for everyone in our country, but politics are preventing most people from seeing the logic behind some of the plans. The best plan to date is the following one that would be for all areas of the government, not just federal, to subsidize all medical care and not just that of those on Medicare. I offer the following seven point plan:

1. The government can act in the manner of an insurance company with those still working paying a set amount for this insurance, equal for everyone. The same amount that is taken from Social Security checks for Medicare will be what each person in the country pays.

2. There will be a set amount allowed for each service and it will be standard across the country. If the practitioner complies with this he will be guaranteed seventy-five percent of his charges from the government with the patient picking up the rest.

3. There will be bonuses given to individuals who have no illness for certain periods of time by releasing them from their obligation to pay for a period of time even though they will still be covered.

4. There will also be incentives for preventive medicine through exercise equipment at discounted prices for those who stay well for certain periods.

5. There will also be substantial reimbursement for anyone who comes up with new methods of treatment or new ideas on preventive health care.

6. The emphasis will be on self-responsibility. This will begin to take the power away from the medical profession which is what needs to be done.

7. Medical schools will be required to admit a standard amount of students to the medical college, a certain amount according to their overall enrollment. This will put more doctors out there which will also help the situation. By controlling the amount of students allowed to enter medical school they control the prices that doctors can charge. Do you see? This is one very important beginning point. At the present the demand exceeds the supply. This must be brought into balance.

There should be a system set up that is free from all political manipulating. It must bridge all political parties and be above politics. It must have the sanctity of the judicial system. The place to look for the type of individual to supervise this would be in the field of medical research, dedicated scientists, for the following reasons:

* They will be paid by the government so will have no concerns over money.

* They will be ethically above being bribed or bought for money.

* They will be qualified to handle the money collected due to their knowledge of funding research.

* They will be qualified to set standard procedures and treatment prices.

* They will be qualified to judge new ideas.

* They will be qualified to give incentives for staying healthy and for practicing preventive medicine.

* They will be as a court of last resort, or court of appeals, for doctors and patients alike.

Most of these research scientists do have experience with the field either as patients themselves, or through their families as patients, but have never practiced in the field as general practitioners. They are not set up to practice medicine this way. They are not certified to do this, their degrees are in research and even though they carry the M.D. on their name they are not board certified by the American Medical Association to practice in the field. They could be but chose to do otherwise, such as research.

Because they have had to be constantly searching for funds for research, they have a healthy respect for the dollar value of things. For this reason their investments will allow the money collected to earn more in the way of income for this branch so that annuities and incentives can be given to those who stay healthy. This will also insure that everyone will be able to afford to go to a doctor for their problems, whether they be physical, emotional or mental.

Falling under physical problems would be any part of the physical form that is not functioning right. This would include eyes, ears, teeth and feet, spinal problem, etc. It would deny no field of treatment by qualified practitioners. At the same time it would begin tightening up control of self-help practitioners by demanding appropriate training and testing before anyone can come under the Health Care Plan. This does not mean they cannot practice their service, only that they will not be guaranteed their income from the medical plan.