My solution for healthcare is free market in nature.

1) Each individual must contribute a fixed percentage of their income to a  Permament Health Savings Account.

2) The money there can only be spent on Health Care related issues. This includes doctor or dentist visits, prescriptions, insurance, or the likes.

3) Individuals can purchase insurance as part of a collective pool.

4) States, but not the Federal Government, can choose to aid those they feel are "in need". This can be poverty, medical issues, disability base, or based on any factors the State chooses.

The result would be lower prices, greater options, immensly reduced fraud, and greater care in spending.

... that! 

> Einstein wrote:

> My solution for healthcare is free market in nature.

1) Each individual must contribute a fixed percentage of their income to a  Permament Health Savings Account.

2) The money there can only be spent on Health Care related issues. This includes doctor or dentist visits, prescriptions, insurance, or the likes.

Distinguish this from the individual mandate.  (No, I'm not asking you to consider the entirety of Obamacare.  Just the one portion of the bill that says "everyone is required to buy health insurance.")

The reason the health system in America is broke is because people keep stuffing their fat faces with meat and dairy... giving themselves cancer, diabetes, and heart problems. Then you have poor\stupid people going to the ER for a cold and never pay their bill which causes hospitals to charge more to paying customers.

What I do not understand about this article is the only federal reimbursements are from medicare ... a young woman cannot get medicare unless they are disabled ... I doubt that many disabled young women are getting pregnant.  So the issue would be reimbursements from medicaid (state level) not federal... Also the hospital is only doing 200 births a year?  That is very low..

Obama should instate a fat tax ... If you cannot stop stuffing your fat face, I shouldn't be burdened with higher premiums for your triple bypass, gastric bypass, and cancer treatments.

reason for healthcare problem in usa

its a crime to have one price for poor people and one price for rich people.

right there.

What happens when you get in a car accident and have to be air lifted to the hospital?  "Sorry sir you only have $3200 in your HSA,  that only covers 4 miles of air transport *drops patient from the heli into the river...

I work for a health insurance company, there is no way anybody will be able to have enough in their health savings account to pay a 15k air lift bill, a 500k hospital stay, and all the drugs that will go along with it. 

The costs have to be shared or else hospitals will never get paid for the services they are required by law to provide in a life/death emergency.  Under your plan all hospitals would go bankrupt in a few weeks.

That is why the costs HAVE to be shared... the HSA is a good idea and most plans are switching to HSA plans so patients are more intelligent when they shop around for healthcare, but there has to be a deductible at some point where the insurance company kicks in and starts paying...

This is also why in a free market society health insurance companies should be able to reject the obese, just like a car insurance company can reject someone with a lot of DWI's or car accidents.  If you show neglect towards your body, the rest of us should not have to pay your tab.

Ahh gotcha, guess I misread.

The insurance company I work for is moving away from copay plans and moving to the health savings accounts with high deductibles around 3 to 4k where the plan will kick in and pay 80 - 100% once it is met.  So I think slowly we are moving to a plan like you describe.

Still though, the real issue is nutrition...  if everyone was on a plant based diet or at least limited their meat and dairy intake we would see a lot less diseases...  It is a lot cheaper to eat some green veggies than to pay for expensive treatments.

> Einstein wrote:

> Insurance is known to increase costs Zarf, I have paid cash at some locations and gotten discounts for doing so. They do this because far less paperwork is needed. Additionally being able to 'shop' prices means a hospital 20 miles away which is cheaper will now be where you go instead of a hospital next door... when you need on going treatments.

Okay, two more questions:

1: Is that the only way by which insurance increases costs?

2: This stance counters a basic fundamental of economic theory that makes free markets work: rational choice.  If what you say is strictly the case, why have consumers on such a massive scale determined that health insurance is such a useful item that the industry has become so massive?  Where's the value added?

I love the "solutions" ideas from people who know nothing about Amerika's healthcare system or how it's broken.

"That's great Jimmy, you had a bright idea! Now go back to school and get a clue what you're talking about before you embarrass yourself telling others about your baseless ideas!"

Einstein demonstrates no knowledge of why healthcare is largely employer-based in the USA (IRS ruling, 1943). Or how this leads to overcoverage, or how this leads to ridiculously high prices.

How can you propose fixes to a problem you can't even identify? Skip a few steps?

"Insurance is known to increase costs..."

And the overly-simplistic statement of the decade goes to...!

When you don't address or even acknowledge our current problems, we have absolutely no reason to presume you're aware of them.

I love how your first idea is another version of an individual mandate. That's priceless.

Do you think I could dedicate a smaller percentage of my income because I make so much more than you, eat much healthier than you, and work out? Who would be in charge of deciding how much we each had to set aside? And what's with all this federal meddling in our lives and calculating what we have to set aside? So this is "Conservatism," huh?

Nice pot reference. Way to take the high road. Not only have you engaged me on ideas and clearly shown yourself to be knowledgeable of our healthcare woes, but you really took me out with that zinger! You truely are not only the more intelligent man, but the more mature and measured as well!

If you delete or edit the initial offending posts, maybe they won't get responded to and you won't have to comfort those with tears.

I suppose you could just dole out warnings equally, regardless of conduct, and consider all to be fair.