Affordable Health Coverage

It’s election time again and as in most recent years an issue that is center stage is health care and how to fix it. I have to admit that after seeing how our government has “fixed” so many things I am skeptical of Washington improving anything. The usual M.O. of our government is to raise costs and lower quality. How many times have the people agreed to fund something just for our elected officials to come back the next year and ask for more

When I started reading the out line to Hillary’s health plan I expected to find new a bureaucracy which nothing good could come from, but was surprised to find several ideas I could agree with. I would want more clarification before supporting anything, but here are the main points that are outlined…

1. Tax Credits: Here there are tax credits for individuals and small employers who provide health insurance. This is something I do agree with. The questions I have are:
1. How big are the credits?
2. What is considered a small business?
3. Why only small businesses? I know that large businesses are perceived to have deep pockets & the costs wont effect them, but a large company has more employees and therefore a much larger bill. Besides in a time where we are worried about our economic situation why would we want to punish to employers that employ the most people and help drive the economy?
4. For the people that are just surviving paying the premiums every month then waiting until the next year for the tax refund could be difficult.
2. Plan to reduce costs: Remove hidden taxes – Again I agree with this. I believe there are many other area besides health care that we should do this to.

Emphasis prevention – It is known that preventative medicine can greatly reduce costs & is better for our health however it’s a little hard to make someone do. Most people wait until they are sick before they go to the doctor and then it is to late.

Emphasis on efficiency & modernization: Again a good idea but at what cost & how large are the benefits?

3. Make drug companies offer fair prices: This would be nice but doesn’t a lot of the cost come from all the red tape the FDA puts drug companies through. It takes an average of 10 years to get a drug approved in this country.
4. No denial for existing conditions: This would be good for many people who are sick.
5. Choice of private or public plans: This raises questions. I am leary of putting people on public plans. There are no details on this but it appears that this is a low cost option where the public picks up the difference. With as inefficient as government is why not just improve the tax credits.
6. Individuals will be required to get & keep insurance: To me this is a huge red flag. Insurance is always a good idea but for the government to requie it crosses the line. Besides how do they plan to enforce it?

As much as I would like to get all the details it may be a mute subject. Since the early ‘90’s when Bill Clinton made the first big push for universal coverage I don’t remember 1 bill making it out of committee. I like the tax credits but I feel the real solution will come from the private sector. There are companies today that offer low cost solutions and as people give up on waiting for our elected officials to do something these businesses are growing.

One such company is AMERIPLAN. This is a membership group that has negotiated contracts with hundreds of thousands of providers in all fields. With over 1.5 million members & growing AMERIPLAN has the ability to demand huge discounts on health services and prescriptions in return for the flood of business.

The plans start at under $20 a month per household and the benefits are unlimited. No one is denied or charged higher rates due to existing conditions or age. The success stories are endless with many members saving in excess of $100,000. Sound to good to be true, It’s not. To learn more Visit AMERIPLAN.