The latest debacle in our House of Representatives indicates the Speaker of the House is not all that effective. Even though Republicans control the House by a WIDE margin, he could not get enough of a coalition together to get the health care bill through. And while I am happy the bill failed, as it stunk, I don't think any sane Republican should be happy that the Speaker, smart as he may be, is so ineffective.
So what should be done? It's simple.The Republicans in the House should replace Speaker Ryan with someone who has a proven record of building strong coalitions, and getting huge legislation passed, with such a large majority that even a Democrat president had little choice but to pass it. The next question is, "Do we have anyone like that?"
The answer is, "Yes". We do have someone who has done exactly that. Someone who knows the rules and inner workings; knows how to pull people together; has passed complex bills and got a Democrat president on board. And that person is...Newt Gingrich, who managed to push through the "Contract With America".
Many people will say, "But Newt is not a House member." But that is not an issue - by law, ANY American citizen can be elected Speaker of the House by House Representatives.
If Republicans are serious about Making America Great Again, and maintaining their hold on Congress and the White House in future elections, they absolutely must have an effective Speaker. Otherwise, we will have Elizabeth Warren as president in 2020, and Chuckie Schumer as Senate Majority Leader and Nancy Pelosi as Speaker in 2018. And that would be a nightmare akin to the apocalypse.
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Monday, March 27, 2017
Sunday, March 26, 2017
A Simple, Sound, Affordable Health Care Plan
Real Health Care Reform would put it back into the free market, with limited government controls. And it would require politicians - on both sides - to forget politics long enough to do what is actually right for We the People. Someday, they may realize the best thing they can do for their party and their careers is to do the RIGHT thing, in spite of politics and lobbyists. There are a lot more voters than lobbyists. Do right by the people and your career will take care of itself.
1) The cost of all health care services and products, from prescriptions to surgeries, should be up front and transparent, allowing people to "shop around" for the best price. This would lower costs by increasing competition. People should know up front what something will cost, so they can "comparison shop".
2) Every person should be able to cobble together the health care plan that is best suited to their needs, by being able to buy various components of insurance from various insurers - catastrophic from insurer A, emergency care from insurer B, prescription coverage from insurer C etc. This would guarantee even lower prices through increased competition
3) Every person should be able to buy across state lines and be able to negotiate with insurers for the best price
4) Tort reform - caps on malpractice lawsuits, reduce and/or cap class action suits against drug companies. Get "ambulance chasers" off TV
5) Government should make it a violation of law for any insurer to refuse insurance to those with pre-existing conditions. ONLY PEOPLE WITH PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS would be eligible for government subsidies to help cover costs for THAT condition, only, and the amount of such subsidies would be based on the individual's income. Funding for these subsidies could come from an additional 2% payroll tax on incomes in excess of twice the current poverty level
6) The government should block grant Medicaid to the states with the understanding that the funds cannot be used for any other state expenditures, and states shall guarantee adequate medical care for those on Medicaid
7} Medical providers would not be able to charge different people different prices that are based on whether or not the person is insured, or what kind of insurance they have
8) The Medicare/Medicaid portion of payroll tax would not be capped by income, but would be assessed on all earned income without limit. No matter how much a person earns, the payroll tax would apply. The excess payroll taxes from these higher incomes could help cover costs for government funded CATASTROPHIC insurance to anyone earning less than 4 times poverty level (for services not covered by any other insurance the person may have). As a bonus, the FICA portion would help protect Social Security for the foreseeable future
9) This is a big one - and important. It is unfair (and not cost effective) to make people who live a healthy lifestyle to pay for the poor choices of others. To deal with this, we should collect "sin taxes" on the products that contribute heavily to the health issues of those who choose unhealthy lifestyles so that, in essence, they are "paying it forward" to their own health issues that are caused by such choices. These taxes should be imposed on the manufacturer or distributor of said products and paid into a special fund to be used to help cover costs of issues caused by unhealthy lifestyle choices: cigarettes, alcohol, junk foods, opioids, illegal drugs etc., as follows:
* 5% on every can/bottle of beer or wine
* 10% on hard liquor
* 15% on all tobacco products
* 2-3% on "junk foods"
* 10% on opioids
* drug users/dealers - regardless of any other penalty, an automatic (additional) $500 fine for users; $1000 for dealers
* 15% on marijuana where marijuana is "legal"
Paid directly into a special fund and to be used EXCLUSIVELY for health issues of unhealthy life choices, i.e. lung cancer, diabetes 2, HIV, drug overdoses etc. Whereas health issues caused by these lifestyle choices is responsible for the majority of all health care costs, his takes much of the burden off insurers, which will dramatically decrease premiums and deductibles for all
NOTE: It is understood that the majority of people will not be happy with this, as most use one or more of such items. But it should be noted that a good health care bill should not be designed to make people happy, but to KEEP THEM HEALTHY. Happiness means little when you are sick - or dead! Our elected leaders should, at least in the case of health care, put people's health first, above party politics, or personal career goals.
Under a plan such as this, all people will have access to truly affordable health care suited to their own needs, from the very poor to the very wealthy.
1) The cost of all health care services and products, from prescriptions to surgeries, should be up front and transparent, allowing people to "shop around" for the best price. This would lower costs by increasing competition. People should know up front what something will cost, so they can "comparison shop".
2) Every person should be able to cobble together the health care plan that is best suited to their needs, by being able to buy various components of insurance from various insurers - catastrophic from insurer A, emergency care from insurer B, prescription coverage from insurer C etc. This would guarantee even lower prices through increased competition
3) Every person should be able to buy across state lines and be able to negotiate with insurers for the best price
4) Tort reform - caps on malpractice lawsuits, reduce and/or cap class action suits against drug companies. Get "ambulance chasers" off TV
5) Government should make it a violation of law for any insurer to refuse insurance to those with pre-existing conditions. ONLY PEOPLE WITH PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS would be eligible for government subsidies to help cover costs for THAT condition, only, and the amount of such subsidies would be based on the individual's income. Funding for these subsidies could come from an additional 2% payroll tax on incomes in excess of twice the current poverty level
6) The government should block grant Medicaid to the states with the understanding that the funds cannot be used for any other state expenditures, and states shall guarantee adequate medical care for those on Medicaid
7} Medical providers would not be able to charge different people different prices that are based on whether or not the person is insured, or what kind of insurance they have
8) The Medicare/Medicaid portion of payroll tax would not be capped by income, but would be assessed on all earned income without limit. No matter how much a person earns, the payroll tax would apply. The excess payroll taxes from these higher incomes could help cover costs for government funded CATASTROPHIC insurance to anyone earning less than 4 times poverty level (for services not covered by any other insurance the person may have). As a bonus, the FICA portion would help protect Social Security for the foreseeable future
9) This is a big one - and important. It is unfair (and not cost effective) to make people who live a healthy lifestyle to pay for the poor choices of others. To deal with this, we should collect "sin taxes" on the products that contribute heavily to the health issues of those who choose unhealthy lifestyles so that, in essence, they are "paying it forward" to their own health issues that are caused by such choices. These taxes should be imposed on the manufacturer or distributor of said products and paid into a special fund to be used to help cover costs of issues caused by unhealthy lifestyle choices: cigarettes, alcohol, junk foods, opioids, illegal drugs etc., as follows:
* 5% on every can/bottle of beer or wine
* 10% on hard liquor
* 15% on all tobacco products
* 2-3% on "junk foods"
* 10% on opioids
* drug users/dealers - regardless of any other penalty, an automatic (additional) $500 fine for users; $1000 for dealers
* 15% on marijuana where marijuana is "legal"
Paid directly into a special fund and to be used EXCLUSIVELY for health issues of unhealthy life choices, i.e. lung cancer, diabetes 2, HIV, drug overdoses etc. Whereas health issues caused by these lifestyle choices is responsible for the majority of all health care costs, his takes much of the burden off insurers, which will dramatically decrease premiums and deductibles for all
NOTE: It is understood that the majority of people will not be happy with this, as most use one or more of such items. But it should be noted that a good health care bill should not be designed to make people happy, but to KEEP THEM HEALTHY. Happiness means little when you are sick - or dead! Our elected leaders should, at least in the case of health care, put people's health first, above party politics, or personal career goals.
Under a plan such as this, all people will have access to truly affordable health care suited to their own needs, from the very poor to the very wealthy.
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