Utah Med Law

Whether the national health care reform legislation is dead or not continues to be debated.  I for one am not holding my breath for the federal politicians to come together and do what is right for the nation because it appears their partisan wrangling puts idealistic goals above the needs of the people they represent.  I expected more and have received far less from my federal representatives.

On a state level you are starting to see variations in health care proposals.  In conservative states you often find strict limitations on medical malpractice litigation and unfortunately high levels of uninsured.  It looks like the conservatives want to rein in the medical costs on the backs of those less privileged in the union.  In more liberal states you find what approaches universal coverage and fair representation when injured as the result of medical malpractice but costs remain a concern.

The is an excellent recent article in the Washington Post titled 'With Health-care Reform Stalled, Debate Heats Up Regarding State Approaches.'  It is an excellent review of the approaches to health care reform that is taking place at the state level across America.

I think there is only one way to truly rein in the costs of health care in the United States and that is a one-payer system.   In Canada you have a one-payer system.  Does that mean that all systems have to mimic Canada?  I think the answer is no.  Does the one-payer system in the United States mean Medicare for all?  Again I do not think so.

To appease the health insurance industry why not have them complete on a national basis requiring all persons to be insured?  We might require each carrier to enroll a certain percentage of deemed 'undesirables', those with preexisting conditions or inability to pay, adjust their compensation and thereby achieve universal coverage.  Incentives could be implemented to reward individual participants that implement strategies to be healthy.  Incentives could be implemented to reward carriers that implement preventative care programs.  These are just two ides that have groundings in both the Republican and Democratic ideals and I thought of just writing this post.  Surely greater minds than mine can come up with better ideas that will allow our politicians do what is best for the nation.