Health Care

Individuals must take responsibility for their own health care.  I should note that there is an important difference between health care and health insurance; health care is maintaining and preserving good health through doctor's visits, healthy diet, exercise, etc.  Health insurance is a method by which one might choose to pay for doctor's visits, treatments, and other health-related expenses.

Health insurance should be a personal choice and available to everyone through accessible open enrollment.  While costs are high, there are ways to reform the current health care system at no cost to taxpayers. 

  1. Tort reform will limit the amount a person can receive when suing for damages.  When a doctor is sued and the lawsuit is awarded to the plaintiff, the amount of money awarded to them typically far exceeds whatever medical bills needed to be covered - sometimes by millions of dollars!  The high risk of insuring a doctor means a high insurance premium for our doctors, and that cost is passed on to the patient.
  2. Allowing insurance companies to compete across state lines will inevitably reduce costs nationwide.  They'll need to offer the best coverage at the lowest price in order to remain competitive.

While prohibiting insurance companies from denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions sounds compassionate and even ethical, it's not plausible.  This would allow for someone to wait until they've developed a condition to start paying for insurance.  So a dishonest person could go about their life for 40 years, learn that they've developed diabetes or cancer, then get health insurance and immediately begin receiving benefits from the insurance company they've barely ever paid.  What would this do to insurance companies?  What would this do to the cost of insurance premiums?  It certainly wouldn't make health insurance more affordable.

As early as possible, children should be taught healthy eating and exercise habits, for the lifelong preservation and promotion of good health.  This is the responsibility of parents, and should be supported by educators.  If health insurance for children is desired, but difficult to afford or attain, there are wonderful programs nationwide to assist.  In our state, we have Florida KidCare, which grants access to vital medical and health services for enrolled children up to the age of 18 years - even those with special health needs!

 

In Our District

The federal government has proven that they can only run socialized programs in bankruptcy, requiring more taxation to cover their mistakes.  Solutions to the current health care issues that would impact us locally, as well as Americans nationwide, are:

  1. Tort reform, as described above
  2. Competition across state lines, also detailed above
  3. Find and prosecute the Medicare abusers, both the providers and the consumers.  It is estimated that $60+ billion is lost annually!  Medicare could be streamlined and made more efficient, to make defrauding it of taxpayers' money much more difficult.
  4. Allow insurance premiums to be tax-deductible again.  This will make health insurance more affordable!  Former President Bill Clinton discontinued this deduction during his presidency, but if the cost of health insurance is a concern, this is a viable and previously-used method of making it more affordable for Americans.