10 points for Healthcare reform

Here are my ideas for health care reform, as globally and succinctly as I can put them. Since this is a time when the "masters of systems analysis are designing how it is going to look, I thought I would throw my two cents'worth out there, and if you agree, please send your thoughts on to your congressional representatives. I personally believe Single Payer would be the cheapest for the patients, as the overhead is forcibly lower, but it may not be possible, so point 4 is to cover the alternative of having to work with insurers.



1. Public health needs to be important again, and needs to have a coherent national, state and county infrastructure capable of handling natural disasters, and pandemic flu, as well as treating the 20% of population below poverty line. I also believe all illegal immigrants should be covered, but we also need to close the borders and have comprehensive immigration reform.

2. "actuarially sound"-- no lopsided, uncovered areas. Also mental health needs to be covered, as part of total health care. Total population data for risk “pools”.

3. "Compare apples to apples" in policies, and basic health needs need to be covered; chronic pain and the needs of the dying for hospice should be covered for everyone.

4. 15% profit limit for all insurance companies.

5. National tort reform, as in MICRA in California, which will also save states billions. Also all docs can compete for jobs without the hidden overhead. All congenital illnesses to be covered by a health care pool so people don't sue for cerebral palsy which is no one's fault.

6. Everyone needs to have a credit card with their data and coverage on it, to present for billing and in emergencies, will get vital info quickly to admitting hospitals.

7. National bargaining power for Medicare for pharmaceuticals and medical equipment.

8. Financial coverage for FDA, NIH, medical schools and nursing schools, and research institutes.

9. Consider Federal Reserve Board of Health to distribute federal dollars over the "pie"-- all CMS, MEDICAID, and indigent and public health, docs, hospitals, research, and pharmaceuticals; and to decide what should be in the "basic healthcare package". This body would be like the federal reserve board for money-- it would be buffered from the politicians, and also from the executive branch, and yet they will have to decide what proportion each of the competing interests should get, of the limited "pie". This body could thus respond in emergencies by increasing one side of the budget if needed.

10. A consistent cost of living increase allowance for physicians, so we are not paid artificially low rates in comparison with every other business in the USA.



PS. We desperately need more nursing schools, and coherent structures of nursing schools and standards. It would be great if local community colleges were given the mandate to fill that need, and ability to provide more nurses to local hospitals and generate jobs in local communities.

Thanks for listening!