Question

In your opinion, what can the US government (state or federal or local government) do to ensure that uninsured individuals get the health care services at a low cost?

Answer 1

The US health-care system has much to recommend it. We produce most of the research, innovation and technology that improves health care throughout the world. Americans have more choice of physicians and treatments than patients in other countries. And if you are sick, your chances of survival are far better in this country than elsewhere.

But one only has to open their latest insurance bill to see that the cost of health care is still going up. On average, health insurance in New York now costs nearly $6,000 for an individual and $16,000 for a family, more in New York City. Premiums are expected to rise by 8.2% this year, increasing faster than wages.

At the same time, too many Americans remain uninsured. Although the number of uninsured is often exaggerated by critics of the system, approximately 50 million Americans could be without health insurance at any given time, 2.7 million of them in New York.

Even if ObamaCare is fully implemented, as many as 23 million Americans would still lack health insurance by 2020.

Here are some ways to reform the health care:

1.Make health insurance personal and portable

Nothing would do more to fix our health-care system than moving away from a system dominated by employer-provided health insurance and instead making health insurance personal and portable, controlled by the individual rather than government or an employer. There is, after all, no logical reason for an individual to receive health insurance through their job. We don’t receive most other types of insurance — auto, homeowners, life — in that way.

2. Increase competition and break up insurance cartels

Putting purchasing power in the hands of consumers is only half of market-based reform. We also need to increase competition in the insurance market. Today, for example, people can’t purchase health insurance across state lines. This effectively creates near monopolies in many states with only a handful of insurance companies controlling the vast majority of a state’s market.

3. Empower non-physician medical professionals

It’s not just the insurance industry that needs more competition. Consumers should also have more choice of health-care provider. Nurse practitioners, physician assistants, midwives, naturopaths, chiropractors, and other non-physician medical professionals should have far greater ability to treat patients. This means rethinking medical licensure and “scope of practice” laws, which too often reflect the power of special-interest lobbies intent on preventing competition, rather than protecting public health and safety.

4. Let states experiment with Medicaid

The government’s other big health care program is Medicaid. Like Medicare, its costs are exploding, posing serious threats to both the national and state budgets. Medicaid costs New York taxpayers more than $15.9 billion annually. At the same time, the program is notorious for providing poor care. Because reimbursements are so low, nearly a third of primary-care physicians will not accept Medicaid patients, driving recipients to hospital emergency rooms for treatment. In fact, Medicaid patients are more likely to end up in emergency rooms than are those with no insurance at all.