I know this is early, but I have a lot of meetings in the morning..
I am still not clear as to why not a single US Legislator is talking about Catastrophic Healthcare Insurance. It is a fundamentally easy concept to understand. Instead of insuring each American citizen on an individual basis for catastrophic emergency medical are - you insure them as a group through the federal government or through the company at a tiny percentage of the cost. The Catastrophic Healthcare Insurance (CHI) only covers medical expenses OVER a set amount, and the individual competes for the best prices on the routine medical care and observation. It is catastrophic emergencies and long term illnesses that bankrupt individuals, and the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) does absolutely nothing about it. With a catastrophic Healthcare system we could cut the cost of monthly premiums by a huge percentage. Example: we carry insurance for our cars for when they crash, but we shop around for the best prices on oil changes, tune-ups, tire rotation, etc.
In thinking about how to design a new system, keep in mind that all Americans today pour an extraordinary amount of income into the health-care system; an entry-level employee at my company can expect to pay $1.9 million over her lifetime, assuming the cost savings anticipated by President Barack Obama's health-care law are actually achieved. Our current system is designed to hide these real contributions from us, but that doesn't mean anyone else is truly paying for our care.
