Enough with all the bickering and fighting, not to mention the constant maligning of each other in the media, let’s pass some real healthcare reform that is fair, realistic, and responsible.
In other words, submit the following 10 points to Congress, get it approved, have the President sign it, then let’s get on with life.
Baker Healthcare Reform Plan
1. Allow insurance companies to sell across state lines.
2. Create a high-risk pool for those with pre-existing conditions such as cancer, etc., and develop ways in which those with chronic illnesses can receive care without affecting premium costs for healthy citizens.
3. Encourage tax-free accounts such as Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) and Health Savings Accounts (HSA) in which people can put money to be used for medical expenses, further encouraging better pricing options.
4. Encourage doctors, hospitals, and all medical facilities to list actual prices and offer discounts for cash payments (including payments made from FSA’s and HSA’s).
5. Re-educate the public on what insurance is and is not. Create courses in high school and college which will teach young adults how to manage their healthcare costs.
6. Encourage lower medicine costs by reducing regulations which cost manufactures millions and delay drugs being introduced to the market.
7. Develop a strict, but less-burdensome vetting process which will allow foreign prescription drugs to be sold in the United States, thereby providing more options to the consumer.
8. Re-evaluate laws which govern how legal firms bring class action law suits against prescription drug companies.
9. Encourage self-insurance options for the wealthy.
10. Allow insurance companies to create a wider variety of affinity group options.
Honestly, much more could be said about each of the above points, but these alone would have fixed a lot of problems with the previous healthcare system, all without having the government come along and take over everything.
With some common sense everything could be OK.
The Recovering Legalist 
Baker for health secretary!
A thousand times yes!
I think they should tell you all the costs up front. My spouse recently had a procedure and we were told it would only cost our $500 deductible. We shelled out our $500 only to discover they didn’t bill the insurance in time and we had to pay our deductible to the lab they sent samples to instead. They sliced up what we originally paid minus coinsurance. In the end, it will cost us almost $900 instead of the $500 originally described. That’s pretty messed up! How do you budget for that?! We are going to sign for a FSA this October during open enrollment. Healthcare is out of control ridiculous.
#8, now that’s been an issue of mine for a long time. I get sick of the scum-sucking bottom feeders (that’s my term for lawyers) ads on TV about “bad-drugs”. Most people are not aware that the costs of legal fees and settlements are added to the cost of health care. I knew a doctor in a small community many years ago that stopped delivering babies at the local hospital because his malpractice insurance premiums were more than the money he earned. Want me to call our senators and representative to see if we can get you in D.C.?
Ha! Sure, as long as they’d pay my gas and hotel 😉
Better than that, I’ll get to to thrown in one of those black SUV’s with a driver AND a home.
Now we’re talking