Of course, I'm nobody so why should anyone pay an average citizen like me any attention.
My solution is a result of my own situation many years ago. Allow me to elaborate.
Back in 1995, I was on my own. I was out of work and I needed Health Care coverage - just for me.
I decided to start shopping around.
One thing that I did was to talk with a friend who was a Nurse Practitioner. She did Insurance Physicals and knew real well about what were the best Health Care deals available out there. She dealt with all of the Insurers so she would have a better idea than most of what was going on at the time.
Since she knew that I'm a Veteran, a former Marine, she advised me to go to the Veteran's Administration to see if they can provide me coverage.
Well, I did. I went to the Veteran's Hospital in Livermore, California, where I met some very nice people who were very eager to help me. They sat me down and talked to me about a "Means Test". Actually, it's called a Financial Assessment (Means Test).
Most Veterans who do not receive a VA disability or pension payment or have a VA special eligibility, such as a recently discharged Combat Veteran, must complete VA Form 10-10EZ, Application for Health Benefits.
These Veterans must provide information on their prior income year total gross household income and net worth to determine enrollment status, and co-pay responsibility for VA health care and/or prescription medication.
Total gross household income includes income of the Veteran, spouse and dependent children.
In my case, because of the amount of money that I made in 1994, it was determined that each visit would cost me a set amount of $40 and my prescriptions would be another preset amount of $12.
To review how it works, click here: Veterans Health Benefits Cost Financial Assessment Information
From this experience, later when all of the talk about Health Care went on and on and on endlessly, and of course the ObamaCare law which none of the Democrats in Congress had the time wanted to even read, I kept thinking about my experience with the VA -- government run Health Care.
Yes, I'm sure everyone remembers the whole craziness from then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi with her famous "We have to pass it before we can find out what's in it" speech.
That was insanity!
Can you just imagine if someone typing it up decided to put in there that the Federal Government was re-instituting Slavery? And yes, they passed it without reading it? Thank God that didn't happen under the Democrats.
Although, maybe someone should have put in there that the President and Congress gets a 50% cut in salary! I'd bet they'd wished they had read really it in that case!
But back to my small, maybe too simple, solution:
1) Repeal ObamaCare
Just do it the same as was done other bad laws like Slavery and Prohibition.
2) Use the saved funds to fix Social Security and Medicare
Yes, once ObamaCare is repealed, we should use those Billions of Dollars that are presently being used under ObamaCare to instead shore up Social Security and Medicare.
Just by doing that alone we'd save Trillions of taxpayer dollars in the future!
3) Use Medicare for very Low Income as well as Seniors.
Once Medicare is on it's feet, obviously keep it available to Seniors -- but also make it available to very low income people.
Do this without effecting the Healthcare Coverage of the rest of America.
4) Not Free!
Don't allow it to be free for anyone, but instead make it affordably paid for through "Means Tests" to see just how much an individual can afford.
Make low ages? Pay $40 a visit. Make more, but not that much more, pay $60 until you drop off the scale because you make too much money -- then you pay the maximum.
This should be no different than what the VA does right now. Use the VA system as a template. Apply it to individuals in the same way that the VA does right now -- using a sliding scale to make things fair and just.
If a person makes over a certain amount, they simply pay more than someone who doesn't.
I would suppose that, like the VA, if you make way too much money then they will politely tell you that you make too much and go away.
5) Tax Deductions and Subsidize Companies.
Yes, award companies who are putting people to work!
If we help small businesses recoup their cost through tax deductions, in a way we are subsidizing those hiring more Americans.
This is nothing new. There are all sorts of benefits that companies get from hiring the handicapped, helping return disabled worker get back into the job force, veterans, minorities and so on.
So yes, why not subsidize companies in the form of tax credits and write off some of their expense for being good providers and hiring more people.
If you are a Liberal, and are reading this, understand that what Uncle Sam gets in Income Taxes from putting more people to work is a heck of a lot more than what he'd get out of just one business laying off people as in the case of ObamaCare.
Tax credits and deductions make it advantageous to hire -- it's the American way!
Instead of doing what is being done right now -- in that the government makes hiring more people a money losing proposition -- give businesses an incentive to hire more people at full time.
Face it, Big Government, the Feds and the States like California, impede economic growth because of regulations, penalties, greedy, and desire for total oversight which is a fancy word for total control.
By subsidizing their cost, if business hire more people, we all benefit because our tax dollars go right back into the economy and the pockets of the American people - and not into the hands of some 12th level manager in some government agency.
Since smaller businesses feel the pinch worse than huge corporations, award them instead of penalizing those companies who hire more and show they are "good employers."
6) Subsidizing Health Care, But Not The Government?
Yes, but not at the method or scope that Obama thinks is possible.
Take the government out of the Health Care "Business" and put Business in the Business of Health Care.
Look, anyone who has dealt with State and Federal agencies knows real well the bottom line reason that agencies over-spend, over-regulate, and over-do-it. It's because those working for the government have no vested interest - other than personal honor - to do a good job and treat their work as a business in the private sector does.
Once you're in the government, you usually have a job for life. In the private sector, we have a vested interest in making things better, stronger, nicer, cleaner, affordable, and cost efficient because your butt will be looking for another job if it isn't.
I figure we can subsidize small businesses in the same way we subsidize Farming, Oil, Auto Manufactures, Film Studios, the Arts, and even Trains that we don't need or use, to name a few things. Actually a lot of businesses of all sorts are subsidized in one way or another.
But instead of making government jobs through a Socialist Dream like ObamaCare, help make private sector jobs by lifting one huge barrier to hiring more employees more affordable - health care.
So where's the money come from in my senario?
Well first, as I said before, use the money already allocated by Nancy Pelosi's Congress when they passed ObamaCare.
Money that is alreeady in the pipeline - like the Millions of Dollars set aside to "advertise" and push ObamaCare - can be reallocated to better use.
But here's the twist!
Use the enormous funds the we give to corrupt organizations and governments.
We need to quit funding Dictators who hoard American taxpayer money that we send in the form of Foreign Aid. Also, stop or cut our funding of over half the budget for the United Nations. And while we're at it, stop funding lawless groups like ACORN from getting Federal assistance grants.
And don't stop there! This next item is a biggy and where a lot of money can be found!
Fix Duplication, Overlap, and Redundancy!
Take the money from hundreds of other Federal agencies that do the same job. Duplication is a real problem in that everyone wants airplanes, their own armed agents, and on and on.
Yup, it can be done.
In fact, the British Defence department just cut the heck out of their Army through what is called a "Redundancy" program. They found thousands of jobs absolutely reduntant, and now they are streamlining their Defence capabilities.
Let's take on federal agencies. And also ask this question, why do some agencies have the same equipement and mission now that other agencies already have?
For example: I love our military, but why do we have Navy Special Ops called SEALs and a bigger better trained Marine Corps Special Ops called Mar Soc? Why do we have Air Force Special Ops and Army Special Ops?
That my friends is called redundancy! To me, leave the Navy on the water, keep the Air Force in the air, let troops trained for ground combat doing ground combat. Let the Marine Corps and the Army do their jobs.
And just as with them, if a federal agency is redundant to a point of absurdity, I say cut it or combine it!
Another example, how many Intelligence Organizations do we need? Granted, we all agree that we need great Intelligence Work - but why can't we do more with less managers in Washington?
And come on, you know as well as I do that that is really what it amounts to with all of these agencies.
And how about the EPA, why in the world do they need armed agents? And why is it that they moved from an advisory agency in the 1970s to a Gestapo now?
In many cases regarding agriculture, I can tell you first hand that there are multiple agencies like the USDA, the EPA, and so on, all doing the same job - state and federal.
And just how many agencies are set up to help the poor! God only knows the money wasted there!
Take some of those agencies and combine them!
Don't believe how bad redundancy really is?
Well, check out this report from the GAO, dated March of 2011.
"What GAO Found:
1) Overlap and fragmentation among government programs or activities can be harbingers of unnecessary duplication. In this report we include 81 areas for consideration drawn from GAO's prior and ongoing work.
2) We present 34 areas where agencies, offices, or initiatives have similar or overlapping objectives or provide similar services to the same populations; or where government missions are fragmented across multiple agencies or programs.
3) We also present 47 additional areas—beyond those directly related to duplication, overlap, or fragmentation—describing other opportunities for agencies or Congress to consider taking action that could either reduce the cost of government operations or enhance revenue collections for the Treasury.
4) All of these areas span a range of agencies and government missions: agriculture, defense, economic development, energy, general government, health, homeland security, international affairs, and social services.
5) Collectively, by reducing or eliminating duplication, overlap, or fragmentation and addressing these other cost savings opportunities, the federal government could potentially save billions of tax dollars annually and help agencies provide more efficient and effective services - but these actions will require some difficult decisions."
Here is the full report from the GAO, http://www.gao.gov/assets/320/315920.pdf
This can work if we decide to cut government waste, duplication, and overlap. It bogs down business and creates nothing but animosity. We need to address it, so why not make it work for us!
Granted, this is just one idea to replace ObamaCare for Low Income folks who can't afford basic treatment.
This doesn't not address entire issue of health care in America. This does not addres tort reform, or malpractice insurances, or gouging by Nurses Unions, or over priced Doctors, or shady lawsuits, or pharmacy companies ripping off the people.
My idea is not meant to replace insurances, employer plans, health care saving accounts, or whatever else you presently have in place right now.
My idea is designed to have Medicare strong enough to pick up the people who cannot afford health care - but still have folks pay for it even if it is a minimal amount. Iit is just an idea for the government to get out of the business of contolling our lives and get back in the business governing it's real responsibilities.
It's telling the government, go away and do your job and stop trying to control people with oppressive over-reaching laws. That is not what We The People designed you to do!
This is just one idea to help solve three major questions - First, what do we do for the low income folks when we finally smarten up and repeal ObamaCare, and two, can we find a practical health care system that we can emulate that we know works?
Since I'm a big believer in people being positive and talking about solution, and not just harping about the problem, that's what I came up with.
I believe that if ObamaCare is left intact, it is going to put America in financial distress beyond anything seen in Greece or Spain or the EU. It places un-needed and unwanted pressure on the American people to cooperate or else!
And yes, that is nothing but a prescription for disaster for the future.
That just the way I see it.
Tom Correa
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