How to Reform the US Healthcare System

As a dual national and industry insider who has lived and worked under socialist healthcare and the current US system, I feel the solution is between the two. Obama's healthcare solution will ruin the quality of American healthcare while doing nothing will worsen the situation, so listen up Obama!

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. The system of socialized medicine is severely flawed. Anyone who is deluded to believe the propaganda of socialist systems and Michael Moore needs to actually live in the system. A great example is schooling. Who would argue that because the government provides K-12 in USA that this is superior education to a private education? Nobody. Why? Because private schools can afford to pay more and as such they provide better education as they have to compete with other private schools and the better the talent they attract to teach the higher the pay and the higher the quality of educations. Likewise the best medical care in the world is found in US private medical facilities. To take out the competitiveness of the industry would essentially quell the talent and create a mediocrity in the healthcare industry which we now see in our public schools.

2. USA spends more per capita on healthcare than do most countries with socialized medicine. The problem is how USA spends this money and therein also is the solution to resolving the healthcare issue.
   
   In USA money is spent on medicare and medicaid as well as subsidizing certain hospitals. The first thing USA needs to do is designate some of these hospitals as STATE hospitals and others as strictly private. In doing this certain hospitals would be 100% subsidized and feasibly could be used to treat all uninsured and underinsured patients. These hospitals would be the first place non-emergency hospital care is sought by all people without insurance. These could be funded with monies from tobacco, alcohol and other health-related taxes. Staffing would be based on state universities' medical schools. These would be learning facilities for such universities and would also attract very skilled medical professionals who already have chosen to dedicate themselves to teaching and thus to public service by choice.
   
   Naturally this is not always feasible and as such government regulations could be imposed which would force all doctors and medical facilities to take on a certain percentage of non-paying patients, emergencies, and cases. This in turn would enable all people to get some healthcare which would be up to the competitive standard that we all expect. It would not create an undo burden for facilities or for doctors and would not curb competitiveness. I can personally attest to the fact most doctors and medical facilities would not object to having to do a certain percent of "community service" hours. This can very well include working shifts at state facilities thereby assuring quality of such facilities remain equal to private facilities.

3. All emergency rooms should be bound to accept and stabilize any patient in an emergency situation. Once stabilized the patient should be promptly transferred to a state facility. Emergency treatments should be reimbursed at the rate of pay for a state facility to any private facility who performs such services. This cuts down on blanket subsidies.
   
   Further to this all hospital care, even emergency, should be, by law, obliged to charge less for non-insured care than their lowest negotiated insurance rates. This will cut down on 50 dollar aspirins, 1000 dollar a minute ER stays, and other inflated price-gauging regularly done by hospitals.

4. Medical bills by law should be unable to go against someone's credit in all circumstances. Collections should be limited to a special medical collections board which assess the defaulters financial situation and ability to pay. Should a person not be able to pay the amount the balance should be paid by the government. Should the person be able to pay they should be forced to do so by the medical collections court via agreement, arrangement and if need be garnishment and liens. This in itself makes the argument that if state facilities are available all people will go there moot as nobody wants to end up with liens or garnished wages.

5. Pharmaceutical advertising should be banned. Medication should be prescribed by a doctor, not aimed at the patient to ask for. The current marketing expenditures should be calculated at present and each year evaluated to rise at the same level as inflation and such funds should be payable to the government in form of free medication to distribute via the state medical facilities.

6. Being under or uninsured should be reserved for those in need. It can be argued that a state system would be inferior but this is not the case if doctors from private facilities were doing required community service hours at these facilities. It can also be argued that without defaulted bills going on credit reports people would default, the resolution as stated above would also negate this argument. It can also be argued everyone would opt not to have insurance and to use the state system. This too is both fallacious as is seen in socialized countries where the wealthier have private insurance as well as the fact that only those who earn under a certain amount will be entitled to anything but emergency care.

7. The final step is to reform the health insurers. If you wish to be a health insurance provider you would need to follow certain laws and regulations. These would be aimed at preventing blanket denials and having third parties that work for the insurance companies deciding what is and is not "covered" treatment. Pre-existing conditions likewise need to be struck off as preclusionary grounds for insurance coverage.