Thoughts on Healthcare Reform

2009-08-16T01:47:00.000-07:00

My feeling is that healthcare reform is necessary. Am I 100% happy with the proposal the current administration has put on the table? No. And I don't think anyone is. On the other hand, I think just about everyone realizes that the current system is broken, and something needs to be done about it.

What I envision should happen is some kind of a national healthcare system. True, it's going to cost a lot of money, and chances are I'll have to pay more tax for it. A national healthcare system, though, is just about the only thing that I'll be gladly to pay more tax for. Right now healthcare is expensive, and it's inconvinient. Just to see a doctor is sometimes difficult, and understanding all the cryptic codes on a medical bill? Forget it.

Another thing that I found curious was that the current healthcare system relies heavily on companies to provide coverage. This has led to two things: 1) Employers spend a lot of money on employee healthcare costs, and 2) Large companies, with its vast resources, tend to offer a much better (and hence expensive) healthcare package than small startups. As a result, people with potential higher healthcare needs (such as someone with a family) will gravitate towards larger companies rather than taking the chance on a startup. A national program that has uniform coverage and hence consistent premium (i.e., the employee would pay the same amount of premium for my health insurance whether I am with a startup or with a Fortune 500 company) would solve these two issues.