Obamacare Fix Should Be Simple

Obamacare Fix Should Be Simple — Debate rages about how to fix the Obamacare disaster.

Some Republicans understandably want to keep the program’s massive Medicaid expansion. Medicaid is the “government insurance program for those whose resources are insufficient to pay for health care“. Many now have health insurance who didn’t before. Taking it away is something that would likely come back to bite.

Of course, Medicaid is a disaster in itself so hold that thought.

Then there is the employer mandate. Employer-provided health insurance had a value of $17,545 for a family in 2015. It would be a serious blow to working people if it were to disappear. Of course, company health insurance plans were widespread before the mandate. Ironically, they may become less widespread as businesses increase the use of part-timers and independent contractors and automation to avoid the mandate so hold that thought.

And then there are the mandates to guarantee insurance for those with pre-existing conditions, and for adult sons and daughters, which President Trump has promised to keep.

The knot appears impossible to unravel and it is. That, though, makes the solution simple. Cut it off entirely and re-splice the loose ends.

Switzerland has an indisputably successful health care system. It has an individual mandate as per Obamacare but limits it to accidents, illness and pregnancy. If one wants things extra, one can pay find policies beyond the mandate and pay extra.

There are subsidies for those who can’t cover the minimum.

If the U.S. were to adopt such a system, Obamacare, Medicaid and Medicare could be abolished and the swamp-filling bureaucracies that run them could be drained. As the policies would be purchased by individuals, the government wouldn’t have the chance to play with the money.

Regarding business, don’t just end the employer mandate but treat health benefits as taxable income. Cold? Does your employer pay for your home, clothes and groceries? Once people get used to buying their own health insurance just as they do their home, clothes, groceries and other insurance, the cost will drastically drop as they shop. Employment will boom as will living standards.

Obviously, insurance should be allowed to be sold across state lines.

Obamacare Fix Should Be Simple

Obamacare Fix Should Be Simple

 

One thought on “Obamacare Fix Should Be Simple”

  1. The mandate for employer-funded health insurance should be eliminated. And I do not believe that that leaves everyone in the cold. Employer-funded health insurance was created under FDR’s wage controls, as a way to offer an incentive to attract employees when employers couldn’t offer higher wages. I do not believe that if federal mandates to pay our insurance were removed, the market would not move to fill the gap. That is, employers might not have to pay our health insurance, but they would tend to offer that money as salary, to keep their employees and attract new ones. Would there be some dislocation? Yes, of course. But eventually, it would even out again. Employers might even still offer to pay health insurance, as an incentive to attract employees. But let it be the employers’ choice, and let employees decide whether that is attractive enough to take the job.

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