After Scott Brown, or
A Short Proposal for Health Care Reform
By John Ross

With the upset in Massachusetts, the 2000+ page health care monstrosity appears to be DOA, thank God. While our President seems hell-bent on spending our children into oblivion, with laughable talk of “spending restraint” thrown in to add insult to injury, I decided to take the high ground and avoid falling into the trap of being just a critic (or “community organizer,” if you will) and offer some constructive suggestions.

Even more odious to the American public than the way the Health Care bill was crafted in secret was the sheer mass of its 2000-plus pages. No one really believed that anyone in Congress had actually read the whole thing. The Tea Party movement, though largely ignored (or ridiculed) by the Mainstream Media, showed us that average Americans were not going to quietly submit to the nationalization of one-sixth of America’s economy.

Ronald Reagan insisted that his daily briefing be limited to a single 8 ½ x 11 page. I’ll try to adhere to that excellent standard with a four-point plan. Keep in mind that it meets the test that should be applied to ALL legislation: That people have MORE FREEDOM after its passage, rather than less.

1. Allow people to enter into binding agreements with their doctor if they so choose to waive tort claims for simple negligence. This is currently prohibited, and needs to be changed. They should also be allowed to agree to limit claims to the cost of services provided, and agree in advance to binding arbitration on claims, if they so choose.

2. In situations where liability has not been waived, cap attorney fees on claims to 10%. We cap Workmen’s Comp fees, and we cap Veteran’s Administration claim fees at TEN DOLLARS(!) per case, so a 10% fee cap on medical malpractice claims is reasonable, and means that only good cases will be filed.

3. Permit people to buy their health insurance from any company in any state (or country) that they choose. More competition always results in better products at reduced cost.

4. Permit an individual to deduct healthcare premiums from his income tax bill. Not his income, but his actual tax due. This would encourage people to have coverage and sever the unnatural link between health insurance and employment, which only came about when FDR enacted wage controls during WWII, and factory owners resorted to offering health insurance as an incentive to lure skilled workers. Let employers give the money to employees as salary, and let those employees buy the insurance THEY want (see 1, 2, and 3 above.)

I’d like to see a forward-thinking legislator introduce this kind of reform legislation, which is easy to understand, and would improve most of the health care issues while avoiding a massive increase in the federal “nanny state” bureaucracy.



John Ross 2/3/2010

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