A Better, Affordable Health Care Plan

A REAL healthcare bill would include the following:

1) No mandates or credits (see below)

2) Ability to cobble together the health care each person wants or needs, even across state lines. Would create lower costs through competition

3) Price transparency, so people can shop for the least expensive service. Would create lower costs through competition

4) Tort reform - cap malpractice suits to a reasonable level, so providers would not be forced to push unnecessary tests & procedures just to cover their butts

   4a)  Eliminate class action suits for "bad drugs" approved by the FDA unless there is intent of wrongdoing. Would severely reduce cost for prescriptions

5) The government should increase the FICA contribution by employers and employees by 2.5%, and use those funds to provide catastrophic coverage to everyone in a household earning less than 250% of poverty level ($50/year from each, for each $10,000 of income)

6) Those whose household income is at or below poverty level would already have catastrophic coverage (see above) and medicaid for other health care costs. Since medicaid now only needs to cover non-catastrophic costs, the medicaid is less expensive, allowing states to provide more coverage for less

Whereas payroll deductions would provide catastrophic coverage for lower & middle income, and current medicaid would cover most of any balance for the poor, and whereas costs for health care and/or insurance costs have been significantly reduced, anyone earning over 250% of poverty level could well afford their own insurance. Hence, no mandates or credits are necessary.