A ‘Third Way’ On Health Care That Works From the Netherlands
prospero:
What, exactly, is the argument against the following steps:
1) de-link health insurance from employment
Agreed
2) open up the market for individually purchased health insurance
Does nothing to address costs. And insurers will still only insure healthy people. That’s just good business.
3) make insurance insurance, like home or car insurance–for use in emergencies, with routine costs paid out of pocket
Fair enough. But offer the catastrophic insurance to everyone equally and take the profit out. (make it a public plan)
4) loosen up licensing of medical professionals, so you don’t need to go to doctors for every simple procedure
OK with me.
5) accelerate the diffusion of the extremely expensive new health technologies and procedures so that they can be brought into practitioners offices and people’s homes
No comment
6) cap punitive damages in malpractice lawsuits and lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies
Malpractice insurance is 1% of our health care costs. It doesn’t amount to a hill of beans.
7) charity takes care of the indigent; with perhaps government subsidies for purchasing insurance for those least insurable
First part is ridiculous. Second part is OK with me.
