Warning, this is an editorial!
$856 billion for a Public Health Care Plan But wait - who actually has money these days? Aren't we in a recession?
Senator Baucus from Montana has introduced a bill which would cost a little under one trillion dollars over ten years. Think this is expensive? Its actually one of the cheaper proposals out there.
Still think its expensive? Guess what. Health care is expensive. Whether you pay for it directly, through monthly insurance payments, or have someone else pay for it - the health care industry accounts for about fifteen percent of all the money that our nation spends each year. Yes, thats a lot of money.
Personally, I'm fiscally conservative and socially compassionate. I'm one hundred percent for universal health care. I'm also one hundred percent doubtful that we can afford it. I'm also one hundred percent convinced that if a universal health care bill is passed, that a disproportionate amount of the funding will actually go to helping people in need.
Coming from a technology background, there are two practices I'd love to see implemented as part of this plan:
- Abuse monitoring - if you abuse the system, you will be denied access to benefits, or worse, face financial penalties
- Pass listing for effective practitioners - if you respect the intentions of the funding, you will be relieved of the burden of bureaucratic paper work
This is basic network administration. When will these theories make their way into policy administration?
Now this is a total wish in a well - what if those practices could be applied to personal health care as well? For example, if you take care of yourself, you pay less for insurance or taxes. Just as a reminder that you may, in fact, be healthier if you actually take care of yourself.
