I couldn’t help but think about the issues with the healthcare system in the U.S. and while I was thinking I did come up with something that I think could be a potential solution. I’m not sure that this is the objectively best solution, but I do think that it is pretty good. Feel free to comment with discussion.
Statement of the Problem
1. People want access to health care to live longer and have a higher quality life.
2. Many licensed doctors and nurses exist or are in training and they should be allowed to profit from their efforts.
3. Health insurance companies exist and employ many people and must be able to profit if they are to continue to exist.
Proposed Solution:
1. Keep the professional licensing and regulatory system for doctors and nurses.
2. Deregulate health insurance to allow health insurance companies to do what they think they need to in order to profit, except deceive their customers, of course.
3. Create a federal clinic system to practice simplified, low training/checklist based diagnostics followed by simplified, rule based (computer aided) prescription, supplying of drugs, emergency services, and emergency surgeries. The employees of the clinics need not be doctors or nurses, or doctors and nurses in training except for those working the emergency triage and surgery. The other employees only need to be people that capably interpret and strictly follow checklists and rules. People will be charged for services received from the federal clinics, but prices will be minimal due to inherent efficiencies, and payments may be deferred in perpetuity for low income individuals. All of the practice of medicine in the clinics shall be protected from any malpractice litigation by sovereign immunity, but the diagnostic checklists, prescription practices, and surgical practices will be developed by and periodically reviewed by a review board of top doctors to insure that people are benefiting from the treatments.
4. Create a federal student loan program for doctors and nurses which requires either a partial paid residency in a federal clinic emergency room and surgery or the payment of a large penalty.
What this will do:
1. People will have access to medical care that will extend and improve the quality of their lives.
2. Licensed professional doctors and nurses will be able to work for private companies and as always, start their own practices which will be able to charge the prices they need to in order to profit. These private companies will continue to be able to develop and profit from new medical technologies.
3. Higher income (or simply fully employed) private individuals may choose to utilize doctors and nurses that are traditionally licensed, fully educated, and may be specialists.
4. The federal clinic will serve as a sort of “socialized” option that will exist alongside private healthcare providers and provide them with a base level of competition much like the USPS exists alongside UPS or Fedex and provides them with a reference level of competition.
5. Medical insurance will still be needed to allow people to deal with unforeseen massive expenses, so insurance companies will not be harmed.
