plan. I believe health care reform is needed, so let me tell you
what I'd do about health care if I were in charge. Aren't I
supposed to be one of those in charge? Don't we have Government
of the People, by the People, for the People in this country? I'm
not sure any more.
My health care reform plan would include:
1. No free health care for Illegal ailians. You broke the law
by coming here illegally. You have not earned the right to free
health insurance. Every insurance plan would be required to
request proof of US citizenship before coverage could be offered.
This would get some 12 million people off the health care roles
and maybe send some of these illegals back where they came from.
2. Set standards for accessible prescription information for all
citizens. No person should have to put their lives at risk
simply because they can't read the instructions for administering
their prescription medications. The Department of Health the
Human Services would be charged with coming up with standards to
make this happen under my plan.
3. Put vision related services and equipment on a par with those
for other disabilities by allowing them to be reimbursed by
Medicare. A person who loses some or all of their vision needs
the services of vision professionals, Orientation and Mobility
Specialists and adaptive equipment just as much as someone who
ends up using a wheelchair needs that to improve their quality of
life. Yet, to this day, our nation's health care system hasn't
recognized that. That needs to change. I would reimburse vision
related services and equipment at the same levels as other
services.
4. Allow Medicare to negotiate with drug companies for lower
prescription drug prices under Medicare Part D. It was a huge
mistake in 2003 that this provision didn't get included when Part
D was passed. We need to correct that.
5. End the 2-year waiting period for people with disabilities to
enroll in Medicare when they start receiving Social Security.
There is simply no reason why someone who begins receiving Social
Security Disability Insurance should have to wait two years to
enroll in Medicare. There are bills in both the House and
Senate, HR1708 and S700 respectively which would end this waiting
period. Either these need to be passed and signed into law, or,
we need to incorporate ending the waiting period into health care
reform.
6. I'd allow small businesses to pool their resources and take
advantage of group discounts so they can offer their employees
health coverage. Small business is the life blood of America.
Those employed in small businesses should be able to count on
health coverage from their employers as do employees in large
businesses.
7. Simplification of paperwork. You shouldn't have to be a
rocket scientist to understand what your health insurance will or
will not cover, how much you owe, etc. Also, all insurance
companies should be required to offer accessible, on-line access
to explanations of benefits and other vital information. This
would allow anyone, regardless of ability to read about their
insurance and what is and is not being covered.
8. a $250,000 cap on pain and suffering damages in malpractice
cases. Clearly, there is negligence in the medical profession.
Preventable mistakes are made for which their should be
consequences. Anyone should be made whole in terms of medical or
economic damages. Pain and suffering damages are hard to
quantify, allowing juries and greedy trial lawyers to inflate
these claims. By limiting these damages to $250,000, we can
focus on making someone or their family whole. We can also
reduce the costs for malpractice coverage for doctors and insure
that people, regardless of where they live, will have access to
all medical services, including high risk operations.
These are the things I want to see in health care reform. Anyone
want to bet how likely it will be that we'll see some or any of
these? I think highly unlikely because it doesn't fit the liberal
template.
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