Reform you can believe in

Everyone wants reform. Everyone.
The left, the right, and even the muddled middle.

This is not a reform bill however, it's basically a complete takeover of the health care system. The worst part is the federal mandate that you have to have insurance or be fined. I'd love to see the constitutional justification of THAT ONE. Put it this way, the Federal Government couldn't even run a whorehouse and make a profit, you think they can run medicine?

Reform would look like this:

1) Allow large employers to pool employees across state lines.

2) Allow individuals and small companies to purchase insurance across state lines.

3) Some kind of Tort Reform. Yes people need to be able to sue to recover actual damages, but a plaintiff should not be allowed to collect the punitive damages, throw those in the general fund.

I know doctors who have had ZERO claims against them, and their medical malpractice still costs them over a quarter million a year. Think that doesn't make your premiums go up?

The biggest cost driver is that we no longer have "insurance" as much as managed care plans. This insulates the customer from the cost (they only see their copay), moving folks to a traditional high deductible plan with an MSA type savings account is what we should be trying to get. This forces the customer to look at the costs of procedures and puts them in the loop of deciding what is and is not worth the cost. It also empowers self responsibility, which is something we all should want.