Out with Medicare/Medicaid, in with all encompassing insurance voucher!

in health •  5 years ago 

For what the federal government spends on things like Medicare and Medicaid, we could literally just give every American in the middle and working class a $400 insurance voucher every month where they can just pick whatever plan they want. Zero new taxes, zero crazy schemes that involve turning the entire U.S. healthcare system into the VA.

That's just the federal government, mind you. States pay a lot into Medicaid as well. If Michigan just dispersed a similar voucher, each person in Michigan would have a total voucher amount of $540 every month, to cover premium and co-pays (I'm not bothering to break things down by class here so the number would actually be higher). To be clear, a Platinum plan on the ACA (the plan with the highest deductible and lowest out-of-pocket expenses) costs, on average, around $350. That means this kind of voucher would provide the absolute best care with the absolute lowest out of pocket expenses, and that's under the current system where insurance companies have insane, state-granted monopolies.

Ditch those monopolies. Let policies be sold across state lines, and remove the "original sin" of employer-sponsored health insurance (ESHI). Prices will plummet, and suddenly you'll only be using half of that $540 voucher (if you're in Michigan) on paying premiums and co-pays, and using the rest for things like gym memberships, exercise equipment, vitamins and supplements, health clubs, etc, etc.

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