The desire to offer a reasonable, affordable and necessary National Healthcare program in the United States….begins with the argument as to how many people are currently affected. There will be several blocks of people affected by any change to the current system.
Lets start with how many are not covered right now: Say 18 to 20% of the approximate 307 million here right now. Of those, how many might be illegal immigrants? The guesses start at 12 million and go to 25 million! Guess it is about time for a genuine census to determine that issue. Then we move to those who simply cannot afford to purchase health insurance or work for companies that fail to provide health insurance. How many might that be? Well, if we have 42 to 60 million people targeted and we take away say 15 million illegal immigrants….we are still talking about 40 million plus that are not in any care system at all.
It is little wonder that Emergency Facilities are jammed in certain large urban areas and hospitals are going bankrupt from caring for those they serve which are uninsured by anyone. Then you take the limited resources that are available for MRI, CAT and PET Scans, Radiology and other diagnoses techniques and the problems build.
So, how does the Government step up and attempt to alleviate the major impasse issues? Well, if National Healthcare is Mandated, made a required Individual Social Responsibility….much like having Car Insurance, or much like following State dictated driving laws……and when caught not following the law are required to pay a fine….well, sounds hard to enforce.
What if Government instead offered a solely Voluntary plan with incentives? Are illegal immigrants really going to step up to the plate…worried that they will be turned in by another Government Bureaucracy? Probably not! How about young kids just out of high school or college? Probably not! What about Homeless people? Probably not! How about Seniors on fixed incomes that don’t have enough to eat every month? Probably not! But all of these issues are merely problems in search of solutions. Not insurmountable, not impossible.
How about this? The first time anyone gets into the system (goes to an Emergency Room, Urgent Care Facility or Doctor)….the person in placed into the Federal Program. They are determined to have either Company Provided Healthcare, Privately Provided Healthcare, Group Healthcare, State Healthcare Program, Insurance Exchange Program, Union or Government Healthcare or to be offered up as an Assigned Risk.
The result will be that eventually, everyone will become part of an integrated National Healthcare System which includes all the traditional providers along with those that due to a current illness or infirmity becomes part of the system. Those newly intergrated patients; illegals, indigent, low income or seniors without insurance……would all become engaged into a National Healthcare System which offers a variety of plans and in many cases with a Government subsidy. The Insurance offered must be bare bones, necessary for emergencies and for serious illness. Additionally, there should be an option for additional coverage which includes local Urgent Care Facilities for scratches, bites and infections. This additional coverage would include low co-pays as well. Offering literally free Healthcare to the lowest economic levels in our society will be a guarantee of immediate rationing for the majority currently paying their own way.
Currently, the Republicans are dead set against Obamacare! Not that the issues at hand are not going away any time soon. Not that without doing something to bring more people into the system…legally…..the funding for new healthcare……will be difficult to provide. Both parties now need to understand that any new National Healthcare Program should not be solely Mandated nor solely Voluntary. It needs to be both!
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