Reduce Healthcare Costs

Like almost all Americans, my family and I have felt huge financial pressure at various times due to health care costs. I know of two means to reduce costs: (1) a single payer system (i.e., government run); and (2) a competitive market (i.e., significantly reduced impact of the third party, often an insurer). I think the latter is the better way to go. In large part because special interest groups (mainly insurers and providers) have bought out the major parties, it hasn’t been tried. There’s a reason why Obamacare is based on traditional insurance. My proposal, found in the Financial Sanity Act of 2027, is to: (a) prohibit tax subsidies for health costs unless coverage is via a high deductible plan and/or an HSA, while tweaking the definition of a high deductible plan to encourage competition while breaking no one in the process; (b) requiring Medicare beneficiaries to pay 50% of the first $8,000 of annual medical expenses, without the possibility of Medigap reimbursement therefor, again to encourage competition while breaking no one in the process; and (c) cut patent life with respect to any prescription drug in half if less is charged abroad than what is charged in the U.S. See paragraphs 16-23 of the summary of the Financial Sanity Act of 2027.