Health 2.0:Community Portal

From Health 2.0

Subject: Health Care

The rhetoric over Health Care and how to reduce its cost while making Health Insurance available to everyone makes absolutely no sense to me.

Access to health care is a right – a right as real as the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

First, what we call Health Insurance is actually no more than the bulk purchasing of Access to Health Care.

Access to Health Care and its cost is dependent on the leverage you have in purchasing access at a discount.

The government is the largest bulk purchaser both as an employer, and as an insurance provider (using price controls and legislation to get the best rates i.e. Medicare & Medicaid.)

Large Employers and Large Employee Organizations are the next largest bulk purchasers of access to Health Care.

Anyone not included in either of the bulk purchasing pools have a more difficult time getting access and pays more for the access they receive.

It's no different than the Super Wal-Mart vs. the local retailer. The local retailer does not have a chance.

The following solution may appear to border on price control, but it will put all Health Care consumers on an equal footing. It may also reduce costs in areas with a lot of competition.

• All Health Care providers (including drug manufactures and suppliers, equipment manufactures and suppliers, pharmacies, doctors, and nurses etc.) establish and publish a price list that is effective for one year.

• All Health Care consumers and/or their insurance providers are billed the same price for the same service from the same provider.

• All Health Care consumers pay the same price for the same coverage from an insurer. • All Health Care Insurers must offer coverage to all applicants at the same rate per $1,000.00 of coverage with limited exceptions. ($25,000 Minimum Coverage Level)

• An insurer can limit total exposure only by demographics that model the most current census data, i.e. males by age group, females by age group, race/ethnic origin, statistical distribution for pre-existing medical conditions.

• Annual deductibles and co-pays must be the same for all insureds with the same level of coverage.

• All employers or must provide minimum Health Insurance coverage of $25,000 per employee.

• Any employee may opt out of the employers Health Insurance plan end elect a different plan with the same or a different Health Insurance company any cost difference paid would be paid by the employee. (Insurance payments made to the employees Insurance Company by the employer.)

• Local charities and the government should assist consumers who cannot afford to pay for insurance in purchasing insurance and payment of deductibles and co-pays.

Albert Hinds – oldal41@yahoo.com 10498 Nucla Street, Commerce City, Co 80022