Some Health Reform Ideas

Aha! Too similar patterns around the same principle, both a new approach appearing right on Obama’s target. Maybe a double bull’s-eye with a bleed-heart libertarian bridge as well as a bleeding-heart liberal bridge. Since both balance compassion with personal responsibility combining the two might be a better bridge. See no contradiction and they complement with personal responsibility in moving towards a healthcare safety net.

Arnold and Nick make a excellent point about not really “health insurance” and “more like a pre-paid service plan with frequent small claims and high premiums”. Paying a “fair share” would help eliminate going to the doctor for minor ailments, which is a weakness of the Canadian system.

Still think the point of an incentive for preventing disease and encouraging health with a baseline-norm would be a major cost saver for the government and a major benefit for the people. Recall Obama also supporting the idea of preventive care and a way of applying it may resonate well with him.

In addition, the approach, one way or/and the other, is simple, easy to understand. Basic universal care would be back on the table. Obama can get personal with the people as a progressive statesman to explain the basic concepts with a few fireside chats – and bypass politicians and pundits, left and right.

Anyway, there’s definitely poetic justice in the air with two catchphrases: ‘A base-line norm for basic health care reform’ and ‘Pay fair share; get necessary care’.

What is also needed here in the US is something like the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) that studies the effectiveness of various treatments and relieves insurers of paying for ineffective treatments.
http://www.nice.org.uk/

Eh, I rather don't like it because I believe more people will go into the national catastrophic health insurance policy and for the ones who don't, their health savings accounts might not be sufficient because some of the increasing health care costs that one of these national insurance policies might bring for underpaying certain medical services services.