So what do we do?

So since I've been making criticisms of government healthcare proposals, you ask, "Well what's your plan then, Nemeis of the Powers That Be? What do YOU think we should do?"

#1 -- Stop Relying on Your Employer For Insurance: People, beginning with people in normal health gradually over a period of time stop getting their insurance from their work. Eventually, employers will never again offer health insurance and if they wish to compensate their employees healthwise, they could do so by (A) matching contributions on Health Savings Accounts, or (B) Do like WHOLE FOODS has done which is to tell their employees to go out and find their own policy, and we'll reimburse you your monthly premiums. If you rely on your employer for insurance, then when you lose your job, you're out of coverage, unless you wanna be bankrupted for COBRA premiums.
Imagine: If it was our responsiblity to go looking around for the best price on a policy, and the best reputation of an insurance company, rather than just going along with what our employer gives us, can you imagine how hot the competition would get between HUMANA, United, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Assurant, etc etc?? There'd be price wars like Time Warner and AT&T. And that would drive down the cost quite a bit.

#2 -- Stop Relying on Your Insurance Card for every doctor visit: Your health insurance card tells you that your doctor's office visit is, let's say, $30. How much would it be to see your primary care physician without insurance? $60? $70? $80? $90?? $100?? Most of you have no idea. My insurance doesn't have office visit co-pays. I pay out of pocket for a doctors visit. I'm currently shopping around for a primary care physician. One of them charges $75 for a basic visit, and all the way up to $200 for a more complex visit. Not terrible. But my optometrist referred me to someone who charges $60 for a basic all the way up to $200, and he gives favorable treatment to HSA payers as opposed to insurance users. By shopping around I am finding the best deal. And don't tell me, "Well if you don't have all the money you won't get treated." Nonsense. There are plenty of doctors out there who will allow payment plans. One example where this happened to me: In July 2008 I went to the dentist. I ended up having to have an extra procedure done. The dental plan I had at the time was a "progressive benefit" wherein the longer I had it, year-by-year the benefit payout would increase. So it paid out a whopping $25. And my bill was $260. So my dentist whom I've used since childhood took the $25, I paid another $60 on my HSA Master Card, and then paid them the rest over a period of 6 months. Every month I called Dr. Branch's secretary and maid a $30 payment over the phone, using my Health savings account mastercard.
Guess who loves people who don't use insurance on their visit and pay out of pocket?? DOCTORS. That's right, doctors have to spend less money on secretaries and dealing with insurance companies to pay them what they're owed, and are paid sooner when patients pay out of pocket. There's even a doctor in TENNESSEE who won't take insurance. And his prices are listed on his brochure for every procedure, and they're cheap.
What's the one medical procedure that's gone DOWN in price in the last 10 years? Laser Eye Surgery. Why? Cuz insurance doesn't pay for it. So when people actually know what things cost and then have to go looking around for the best price, every doctor in town's gonna get into a price war to gain your business, and that's exactly what's happened with laser eye surgery. Here in San Antonio, we've got a doctor who'll do it for $299 an eye.

#3 -- Put money into your Health Savings Account: I cannot stress this enought. You put money in your 401k. You get a tax break for doing it. Put money in your HSA. You get a tax break for it too. Your employer offers you a "Flexible Spending Account?" TAKE IT. Use it when you see the doctor. Use it for blood work. I walked into a place called "HEALTH CHECK USA" last week to get tested for a few things. I walked in and out. No waiting. The whole process was less than 15 minutes. Easy. They don't allow insurance. You have to pay cash, so I pulled out my HSA MasterCard once again. $240 for three tests. I still have $300 on the card. And if you put money into one of these, you'll have funds to pay your deductible on your insurance if something happens. If your work doesn't offer one, look online. I have one with my job AND one with my Credit Union. The one at the credit union is better because the money is always and forever mine. The one at my job, the money is yours until January 1st. You don't use it you lose it.

#4 -- We need pure catastrophic insurance: Plain and simple. People of all healths and ages need to be able to purchase a plan with NO deductible that covers you in case something catastrophic and expensive happens to you, like diabetes, heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, or major surgery after a car accident or work-related incident. If I have to get back surgery due to something that happened while lifting equipment at my construction job (I'm not a construction worker, but if I was) I would like to think that that could be immediately covered and taken care of. If I get t-boned at an intersection, and I live, but need all kinds of ICU treatment at the hospital, I'd like to think I'd have an insurance that would pay without me having to fork out $3500 plus co-insurance. But that's not the way the system is now. I have a supplemental policy that will write me a check for $47 K if I get heart attack, stroke, cancer, or kidney failure, but if I get t-boned on De Zavala and I-10, then I have to hit up Blue Cross Blue Shield, and pay $3500 plus co-insurance. That needs to improve. Don't get me wrong. I'll take what I have now any day of the week, twice on sunday to the Canadian system, but that doesn't mean we can't do better. I mean, for goodness sakes, I have a $250,000 life insurance policy with American General. My mom has no deductible to pay if I die. She just files the claim, American General mails out a $250,000 check, and she uses $10,000 of it for my funeral, burial, casket, flowers, funeral programs, etc. No deductible, no co-insurance. What we have now is not insurance. What we have now is a pre-paid/managed care plan. The little stuff (i.e. -- the stuff below 10 grand should be paid for by us). The big stuff, like a $300,000 hospital bill for cancer treatment, is insurance's job. And I cannot stress enough the greatness of supplementals. In 2001, 50% of the 1,458,000 bankruptcies were related to medical bills, of which 38% had insurance at the time of illness. If you get a critical illness and have to go on paid medical leave, you have NO income coming in, and that's where supplementals like AFLAC and UTAIC come in.