The Problem with Healthcare
Good healthcare is not fully available to all Americans and is becoming unaffordable to many. Currently we have a two-class healthcare system: one for the poor that uses Medicaid and specially designed insurance pools, and one for everyone else. Separating people into first-class and second-class status has never worked out well for America or any other modern country.
The CDC has estimated that 90% of the US annual healthcare expenditures is for people with chronic or mental health conditions. Many of these chronic conditions can be prevented or treated at lower costs with early detection or behavioral changes. A system that is designed to detect and treat medical issues early that all Americans can use may be far less expensive than our current system.
The Solution
NPMP creates a national standardized private health insurance system that everyone, regardless of income, will be able to use. It eliminates Medicaid and many other welfare systems. Medicare and Social Security are not affected by this revised private health insurance system.
Under NPMP, all private health insurance plans will fully cover basic healthcare services and catastrophic healthcare services. Basic healthcare services focus on preventive, diagnostic, and routine medical care issues. This includes checkups, vaccinations, standardized lab and diagnostic tests, and care for minor illnesses. Basic healthcare does not include services by specialists, non-diagnostic outpatient services, or hospital inpatient services. Catastrophic healthcare services cover all needed medical costs over a fixed amount set annually.
The goal of covering basic healthcare services in every plan would be to structure healthcare services in a way that detects and begins treating conditions much earlier and at lower cost than what is now being done. The goal of covering catastrophic healthcare services in every plan is to reduce the financial disaster families may incur when faced with prolonged illness.
Under NPMP, the federal government reimburses most, not all, private health insurance plans for the cost of basic healthcare and catastrophic healthcare services. In addition, all low-income Americans will receive health insurance credits that they can use to pay for any private insurance plan they select.
It is hoped that most employers will also give their employees the option of receiving healthcare insurance credits if they do not wish to participate in the company’s health insurance plan. This means that all Americans should be able to shop for and be able to afford the private healthcare plan that best fits their needs regardless of their employment or economic situation.
Would such a plan be economically feasible?
The cost and benefits of the proposed private national health insurance system needs to be researched. However, it is known that preventive healthcare is not very expensive when compared to the overall cost of healthcare. Over time, a preventive care system and better use of emerging technologies to detect, manage, and mitigate individual health issues should lead to lower costs.
In 2023, the Buehler Center for Health Policy and Economics, part of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, reviewed current research literature to determine what the economic and social impacts of proving universal healthcare might be. They concluded: “On Balance, the economic and social impacts of implementing a universal healthcare system in the US are overwhelmingly positive.”
Almost all our peer countries already have some form of universal healthcare coverage. All of them also have statistically better healthcare outcomes than we do while spending on average about half of what we spend. Considering that we currently spend about 4.5 trillion dollars on healthcare, the potential to provide better healthcare at lower costs is enormous.
Possible starting project
Estimate what the likely costs and benefits are if all Americans were fully covered for preventive medical and catastrophic medical services.
Additional information about healthcare issues can be found in book
Questions: email David@fundingvisions.org