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In this ‘Ask The Politics Guys’ episode, Mike and Jay respond to listener comments and questions on:
- the nature of the Mueller investigation
- the role of healthcare costs in personal bankruptcy
- contempt and civil discourse
- the wisdom of nationwide concealed carry reciprocity
- why Jay uses the term ‘chain migration’
- the guys’ thoughts on UK politics
- the Veterans’ healthcare system as a model for what universal care in the U.S. might be like
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I greatly enjoy the show and have interacted on Twitter multiple times. As you are more focused on policy I would like to reach out to inquire about your thoughts on a policy I am would like to send to my national representatives. i have included the wire frame below and am interested in your thoughts on both could this work and if this owuld hav eany potential of passing.
Thank you
Christian Dubbs
American Health Insurance Reform Act
Employer Sponsored Health Insurance- According to the Kaiser Family Foundation 49% of Americans with Health Insurance receive that Health Insurance through their employer. This costs businesses money each year with payroll (for benefits personnel), negotiations (especially for self-insured employers), and lost time (scheduled health screenings conducted during company time). I am proposing that businesses not be allowed to provide their employees’ health insurance, but only be allowed to make contributions to their employees HSA’s or HSCA’s on a monthly and or annual basis. This should allow a more fixed cost model for businesses when they are looking at adding headcount and should save them time and cost for the afore mentioned reasons. From an employee perspective this would allow them to select their own health insurance programs through the exchanges created by the ACA and would allow them to take their health insurance with them should they choose to change employers making it portable. It also should make the decision making process regarding accepting new offers as they will not be asked to judge the quality of health insurance provided by the employer, only the contribution to the HSA/ HCSA making it strictly a monetary decision.
HSA/ HCSA- Allow individuals to pay for their health insurance using funds in their HSA/ HCSA. This would allow them to contribute tax free to the cost of their health insurance and allow them to utilize the funds contributed by their employer to contribute to the cost of their health insurance should they so choose.
Insurance market- Allow health insurers to cross state lines and enroll participants. In an effort to curtail and control the cost of insurance we should allow the Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Aetna’s and other insurance companies to participate in every state giving the potential customers a wider array of health care insurance options to choose from on the exchanges.
Medicare/ Medicaid- An issue that the ACA has run into is Health Insurance companies not wanting to participate in certain areas for a variety of reasons most notable low population. I propose that we allow for a buy in to the Medicaid and/ or Medicare systems accessible to all Americans. While I am a private citizen I do not know what the cost would be, however surely the CBO could come up with what the cost would be for people to participate. This should help control the cost from a tax perspective to the population as the cost would only be incurred if you chose to participate in either program. This also should increase competition in all areas.