Governors are getting closer ...
Click on the link above to go to a Colorado Public Radio article.
It's shy on specifics, but at this point it kind of has to be relatively non-specific.
The point here is that there are a number of Governors across the country working together to find a way toward a Health Care plan that will at least stand a chance of working.
Being a nobody at all, I'm free to speculate to my heart's content about things that aren't particularly relevant to me but that are of vital importance to a lot of people I happen to love deeply.
A functional health care/insurance industry is one of those things. In the course of my rather non-traditional thought processes it crossed my mind that a sort of compromise might be effective.
Have everyone buy their own basic coverage insurance from a much wider field of options; keep the programs in place that cover our vulnerable elders, disabled, and poverty-stricken; and spare the insurance companies some of the cost of catastrophic cases by giving us all assurance of help in extreme situations.
Continue, as I said, the Medicare and Medicaid programs, with the individual States in charge of distribution and also how much they want to add of their own revenues to that kitty.
I'll have to read the article again, but that sounds a lot like what our Governors might be getting close to. As they struggle through the process, which is bipartisan by the way, all I can do is pray for them.
Here's a bit of an excerpt:
"One specific they agree on and would discuss: Their desire to change the Affordable Care Act mandate that employers with 50 or more employees provide insurance coverage. The governors say that number is too low, which deters hiring at small companies.
They also agree that the possibility of national single-payer coverage is not on the table in their discussions."
And another:
"... Primary care is important. Catastrophic coverage is important. We don't want anybody to get bankrupted because they get sick."
And one more:
"... some sort of reinsurance [using public money to help insure the sickest people], to make sure the high-cost pool is not causing higher rates for all the people seeking insurance on the private markets ..."
The other part of my thought process revolved around both health care and insurance providers - with both stepping up to the plate to encourage people toward a more active participation in their own general health and well-being ... by providing incentives like lower costs/premiums as people meet health goals. For example, some medical facilities that I know of have already been trying to get their staffs involved in health-related goals with internal 'competitions' ... that's just one. There could be others. What if, because it's quick and easy to figure out, they used BMIs as a 'guide' for folks? What if both the insurance companies and health care providers focused more on prevention? What if they stepped out of their boxes even more and took ideas and challenges directly to the people? The people are the ones who will be choosing their insurance and primary care providers, right? They might choose an insurance provider that offers them better premiums the closer their BMIs are to the green zone (healthy weight) - and they might choose the health care facility that offers them common sense preventive information (and helps them plan and implement a program to get them to where they want to be so they'll be eligible for those lower insurance premiums, besides being healthier).
These are obviously only just mine own thoughts, not addressed by the Governors and probably not exactly at the top of the list for consideration by the health care and insurance providers ... at least not that I'm aware of (which isn't saying much because I've had no real personal reason to be paying a whole lot of attention in recent decades) and I'm hoping to high heaven that lack of awareness will change in a real fast hurry as these industries begin overtly and thoroughly publicizing their plans of action.
I want the information in my face every time I turn around. I want to KNOW who is offering what, right up front.
And I want the results of the Governors' efforts plastered all over the place, and NOT in 'legalese' either but in plain English that's clear and concise.
*heh heh*
Wantin' ain't gettin'; I know that.
Still, a woman can do a bit of wishful thinkin' now and then ...
And, you know, a person doesn't necessarily have to either like or agree with everything about an architect personally in order to appreciate what they're doing. So ... IF they come up with something functional that will work for everyone, let's not allow 'personalities' to get in the way of us taking a good look at what they come up with, eh?
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