In 60 Seconds: The Health Care Debate
*PDF Download: In 60 Seconds – The Health Care Debate
The U.S. doesn’t have a health care crisis, but we do have a health costs crisis.
Americans have access to the best care in the world, with low wait times and high cancer survival rates.
Here’s the issue of health care in 60 seconds:
What’s at Stake:
The U.S. doesn’t have a health care crisis, but we do have a health costs crisis.
Americans have access to the best care in the world, with low wait times and high cancer survival rates.
But Americans lack choice…
- …in their insurance plans:
- Most workers simply accept the plan offered by their employer.
- Most employers only offer one plan.
- All plans (employer and non-employer) are standardized to meet federal regulations, limiting customization, variety, and market competition.
- …in their health providers, because insurance plans dictate which doctors are in network and which are not.
- … to shop/plan for healthcare services based on price, because there’s no price transparency. We pay for most medical care through a third party, like insurance or a federal program, making it easier for the health industry to hide price information.
This is not a healthy, functional marketplace, and the result is exorbitant costs.
Bad Solution: So-called Medicare-for-All is a new name for the same old harmful approach of
socialized medicine.
NO choice in insurance—all employer and private plans would be eliminated, as well as
Medicare and Medicaid, leaving only one “option.”
NO or minor choice in care—the only way government can control costs is by paying too
little for a service, creating a shortage and long wait times.
Right Solution: Foster a healthy, functional marketplace where all Americans can choose and afford…
- … an insurance plan.
- Repeal counterproductive federal regulations that over-standardize insurance plans and make them unaffordable.
- Unlink employment and insurance to make plans portable, reducing the risk of “coverage gaps” that create the problem of “pre-existing conditions.”
- …their care and know how much it will cost.
- Foster new models that empower patients with price information to shop directly for non-urgent services, holding down prices.
Addressing Concerns:
