Public health care debate usually begins by addressing the need for third-party financing solutions. Little is said, however, about the actual care providers: hospitals and clinics. I would recommend a different approach which will cost less while also strengthening the nation’s health care infrastructure: Let us buy insurance from facilities that provide our medical care. In other words, let’s go straight to the source and avoiding intermediaries.
Under a system where hospitals and clinics offer health insurance to people in their community:
1. medical facilities can cover their overhead through monthly insurance premiums. Like now, hospital administrators, some of whom I have interviewed, said they could only hope to admit the patient is adequately insured to cover salaries and operational costs. A flow is consistent and predictable revenue will enable the facility to adequately staff, pay better salaries, medical equipment and optimize operational efficiency – and provide better health care.
2. The cost of coverage would be lower than most health care plans (corporate entity attached a long list of financial beneficiaries, the broker for marketers to investors hungry). For example, if the overhead for the facility is $ 5 million / year, 5,000 insured can pay $ 85/month to maintain operations. Implementation of co-pay or include further members will bear the monthly premium. Each medical facility will be free to develop their own agreements with members of their community.
3. Affordable health care will result in savings – not only for the individual, but also for business and local government units. This will help the tax on local control and create a better climate for the economy. And like said Thomas Friedman in The World is Flat, “What can be done to reduce the obligations of the United States for medical coverage will be a plus in keeping jobs in the U.S.”
4. In this program, eventually will be affordable health care for previously uninsured or underinsured.
5. By gaining control over their own revenue streams, participating health facilities can handle the necessary improvements in health care standards and delivery, enhance patient outcomes and maintain business continuity of their own.