Managing Health Costs

© Diana Lindstrom All Rights Reserved

Health care costs continue to rise faster than the rate of inflation. What’s the cause?

Republicans will tell you that mal-practice litigation is the cause. But that’s not even close to the truth. Are there too many personal injury attorneys? Maybe. Are there too many law suits blaming doctors for deaths that should have happened anyway? Maybe.

But what if you were hurt badly in an auto accident? Wouldn’t you want to make sure the insurance companies didn’t make decisions based on money that affect your health and welfare? Wouldn’t you want to have all of the physical therapy you need in order to have the most function possible? Of course you would.

If your child died because a surgeon was addicted to pain medication and made a stupid mistake, wouldn’t you want that surgeon and hospital to pay dearly? The surgeon for continuing to do something deadly while impaired, and the hospital for failing to either know about the addiction or stop the doctor from practicing there? Of course you would.

So here’s the bottom line. Insurance companies are causing the health care costs in the US to rise so fast. Health care insurance and auto insurance. And they’re the same companies!

Just think, without health insurance each person would pay for doctor’s visits. Doctors would have to price office visits to meet the market. So if the market in your town would only pay $25 for an office visit, that’s all any doctor there could charge.

Without health insurance, hospitals would have to price their services for the market, too. If buying an MRI costs $100,000, the hospital would have to settle for paying it off with 1,000 patients paying $100 each.

Doctors, hospitals, clinics, etc. could go back to the business of providing health care. Instead of answering to non-medical people who have never met the patient.

Is there a Democrat in Washington ready to take on the insurance lobby?

New Income Tax Code

© Diana Lindstrom All Rights Reserved

Since we’re discussing Democrats taking a leadership position in US national politics, why not propose a new tax code?

Everyone in the country agrees that the present tax code is too complicated and has too many loop holes for avoiding taxes. Well, maybe not everyone. If I were one of the many thousands of IRS employees, I might not agree.

So, excluding IRS employees, we all agree that the system of taxation in the US is broken. Gee, I seem to remember another time in our country’s history when the tax system was considered broken. Didn’t George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and a whole group of people take matters into their own hands? Didn’t the British king have a surprise!

Short of inciting rebellion, I’d love for our Democratic leaders in Washington to propose a very simple tax system. A flat-rate system. And that rate should be 10%. No exclusions – no loop holes.

Everyone would pay 10% of everything they earn. If a family earns $20,000 per year, their tax rate would be 10%. If a corporation earns $4 billion per year, their tax rate would be 10%.

All Americans would have more money in their pockets every year. Disposable income. Savings. College funds. Retirement funds.

The federal government would also have more money in the treasury. No loop holes. Everyone pays the same rate. And no one is exempt.

Win – win. What politician is brave enough to step up and actually write the law?

Let’s Save Social Security

© Diana Lindstrom All Rights Reserved

The Democratic Party here in the US needs to do something to show positive impact. We weren’t exactly bowled over by the leadership shown during the last national election.

How about using the President’s agenda? He’s prioritizing Social Security right now. What if the Dems came up with a better proposal? What if the Dems showed some leadership and creative problem solving? Think that might win some voters back?

Here’s the out-of-the-box idea for today: Save Social Security by spending the trust fund money ONLY on Social Security recipients.

Oh, my gawd. Totally awesome. Do they really spend money out of the Social Security trust fund on other things?

I have reliable information that “they” do. All those Representatives, Senators, and the President. They’re using trust fund money to pay employees of the National Park Service. And lots of other federal agencies use trust fund money.

My challenge to the leaders of the Democratic Party: Make a law that the Social Security trust fund can be used ONLY for paying Social Security recipients.