The Peoples Health Care Plan

Commentary by Orion Karl Daley
Balanced Party Candidate for Election 2008


Health is key to our sustainability as people, and by default, is entitled by all

Health Care Reform FDR noted in his 'The Economic Bill of Rights' that for all, to have 'The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health'. Today, for a major part of America, sometimes the choice is food or health care costs. The scope of Health Care is typically limited, and sometimes filled in by insurance programs that do not serve their stated purpose. There are several penalties in providing stated coverage; or coverage is variable based on market price and demand.

Government Medicare ( Parts A and B) is for retirement onward. Medicaid is limited by the ability of a State financially to cover the poor. Then there are HMO's, and insurance programs from the private sector to capitalize on you needs. Government based Medicare and Medicaid offerings are limited. The private sector offerings demonstrate an open volatile for profit business market where paying coverage is at a loss to profit. The private sector is not intended to serve the people, and the government offering is intended to only provide a bare minimum. There is a myriad of health care insurance offerings. They can be as complicated cell phone contracts. They are meant to serve the insurance provider. There are limited offerings for just emergencies, and then others for office visits. The there is co-pay. What ever these deals really add up to be, its not intended for everyone. Company Employee Health care plans are negotiated with providers. The coverage is inconsistent between companies. Insurers have to price their offerings based on the demographics of literally millions of policyholders. The bottom line is if you are not fortunate to have a Company Health Plan, then it will cost even far more for less coverage. Todays health care is complicated, expensive, and only provides diminishing returns. The government offers its token minimum, and then it is left to free enterprise. The insurance companies invest profits into the financial markets for themselves, while charging a small fortune for providing very little. For America to demonstrate world leadership, health care reform must be accounted for. Consider the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It's about eliminating the "drive-through mastectomy" where women are forced to go home just a few hours after surgery, against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached. The 3 Step Workable Peoples Health Care Plan What is proposed is to provide a government based Federal Care program, that the private sector can compete against in order to offer even better health care coverage, and where community contribution can also participate in preventative health care. * The Federal Care program is required to afford fixed health care infrastructure costs, make services available when needed by any U.S Citizen, and cover health treatments and remedies adequately up to 100%. This is to include but not be limited to chronic care, emergencies, restorative health, post operative recovery treatments, and generic prescription programs. * 'For the Good' community based offerings are to address the economically disadvantaged where health issues can be circumvented before becoming of significance. Practitioners may take tax benefits based on quota and level of service. * The Private Sector is welcomed to operate honestly by offering competitive alternatives for such things as elective surgery and post operative care. Step 1: The Federal Care component: * Medicare and Medicaid funds will be shifted into a general federally managed pool for the Peoples Health Care fund. Half of what employer/employee health insurance will also be paid to the government fund, where there will be no need, but optional for private sector employee/employer health insurance. * A partial contribution by employer and employee payroll tax will be added to the general pool; with a balance of about what employer/employee health insurance use to pay. For example, if you paid $400 per month for health insurance, you will pay only $200 per month instead into the fund. * Health Care Bonds are considered tax exempt. They will be offered to the financial markets, and to the public for investments. They are in of themselves are to cover the same costs as employer and employee payroll tax contributions. These bonds will provide a financial robustness to the Peoples Health Care Plan, where 1/4 will be available for liquidity, and 3/4th's to be reinvested for the people. Being Tax exempt, means that Financial Institutions do not pay tax on benefits return from the Bonds. Additionally, working people who invest in these bonds do not pay tax if taken from their gross income. This means that you have lowered your reportable gross income, and there by pay less tax; and can use the bond to hedge annual employee/employer health insurance payments that have been made toward the 'Peoples Health Care plan'. In other words, to make back the money tax free that you have paid into the 'Peoples Health Care plan', while taking a tax deduction on the original employee/employer health insurance payments. * The Peoples Health Care Plan is also a 'Safety Net' that will cover balances for extended Veterans Coverage, Unemployed, and other Welfare needs. In other words, for the economically disadvantaged, or in the case of Veterans, the Government covers the cost. * Government Generic Drug coverage is to drive the costs of drugs down in the prescription market. Any pharmaceutical provider will have to meet required Government Standard Pricing models, or will not be selling on behalf of the government. The incentive for the pharmaceutical provider is in delivering volume over others who did not get contracted by the government. * The Peoples Health Care bond is like the old War Bond. In the same manner it is to fill in the immediate financial gaps in health care costs, and reinvest its building surplus. The Bond buyer can trade them like other government bonds. * The Peoples Health Care bond removes the financial burden of costs, lowers employer and employee payroll tax requirements, and provides a fine investment vehicle for the institutional banking markets. It further encourages Industry to match and exceed in quality or stay out of the way of the Peoples Health Care Plan. * Unlike the Catamount approach for the uninsured, It is not a matter of a minimum of 12 months of being uninsured for eligibility, or otherwise. Eligibility is a matter of a strata. When ones health care benefits would run out, then there must be a safety net, where convergence to other eligibility occurs based on the individual's economies of scale. In other words, as they might become re-employed from a point when unemployed, their method of coverage is realigned. Step 2: For the Good Community Watch: Additionally, in the way that our schools require community services from students, I also see no reason as to why private practitioners, given guidelines, cannot write off a percent of their services against their normal taxed income that are afforded to the economically disadvantaged. Step 3: Private Sector Plan: In Business, the imposition of Government Regulations generally is responded to by innovation in the Private Sector. Unlike before, the Government is to set a standard for the private sector to innovate through for more competitive offerings. This standard is to meet or exceed the 'Peoples Health Care Plan'. As much as Wall Street demonstrates innovation in dealing with any new SEC regulation, why can't the health care industry do the same ? In other words, to compel the health care industry to lower costs, while competing against a universal health care plan that can serve all. A Commitment to the Nation, Orion Karl Daley Presidential Candidate for 2008 for the Strategic Future of our country Balanced Party http://unity2008.org