The coming National Healthcare death spiral

http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/05/the_coming_of_zerocare.html

Yippee! I can't wait to suffer and die on a waiting list.

I've been thinking about this problem for awhile and what some possible good moves would be. I may be wrong, but I'm still thinking it all through. Liberal beauracrats wouldn't like my idea because it shrinks gov't, which is what any good conservative would seek to do.

What about starting a transition from our system where insurance companies and gov't dictate to the hospitals how much things cost, and who gets what care (foisting the costs to the taxpayer and those with insurance), to a system where eventually healthcare is funded by the individual and hospitals compete with eachother to provide the best quality of care at the lowest cost to earn the business of the patient.

Right now we have healthcare spending accounts that are tax-deferred. What if they would expand that to not only be untaxed money but also a tax deduction. Preferrably these accounts would be private safe investments. We all know what happened to the lockbock of Welfare Money that the gov't swore they would never use for anything else. Maybe to provide even more incentive for individuals to save, the gov't could match some percentage of what the individual elects to contribute, all tax deductable. It would be ideal if Americans could eventually soley fund their medical care from these private savings accounts. This money could only be spent on medical related expenses. All this would be much cheaper than our current insurance and medicare/medicade entitlement programs that are set to bankrupt our nation currently

What money not spent when the patient dies would belong to their estate.

It would take some persuasion to get hospitals to move back to charging for a band aid what a band aid actually costs, instead of their inflated prices which are a consequence of being paid by insurance companies, servicing non paying patients, and gov't underfunding. My goal would be to essentially eliminate any middle men between the patient and the hospital. The patient will directly pay the hospital. Medical Care costs would be forced to adjust and offer supreme quality of care to compete with other hospitals for the business of the patient.

There would need to be some gov't assistance to transition to this form of provider and patient payer system. There would need to be a subsidization period to give hospitals time to adjust their costs down to levels of open and free market competition. The hospitals would be financially much better off because they would be getting paid for the care they provide with some kind of profit margin.

What about the poor and illegals who need care. Well I suggest they get a job. Illegals, we stabilize you and deport you. The only free healthcare would be to individuals who are physically or psychologically absolutely unable to work. Think how much more money you would have left in your paycheck if you didn't have to pay for all the medical entitlements our gov't obligates us to. Think of how much more money would be given to charities that could support the truly needy, reducing the cost to the gov't.

Free markets and competition is better for the provider and the patient. I believe a move toward this direction would be an improvement.