Medical Malpractice

It is obviously true that this nation needs some kind of health care reform, but what should the reform look like? I have had a lot of thoughts on this topic in the last month or so and decided to put those thoughts down on virtual paper. I will do my best to convey my thoughts here in a clear and understandable manner. Please read through the entire paper before making any decisions on how right or wrong I may be. I do not claim to be an expert on these matters, I simply offer the perspective of a single father who currently does not have health insurance on himself.

Part one: First, let the Federal government offer health insurance (like what's offered to military personnel). For ease of reading let's call this hypothetical company Fedsure. Fedsure can offer their insurance at very low rates and force the private insurance companies to lower their rates somewhat. Fedsure should be primarily for low income individuals and families and can use tax returns to verify income. Of course there could more inclusive policies offered to the public as well to go head to head with the big insurance companies. Fedsure could be grouped with the current military insurance for superior group buying power and negotiation with medical providers.

Now, how can Fedsure keep costs down? All insurance companies pay approximately the same amount for services renderd by providers so even with superior group power, it will be almost impossible to cut costs dramatically.

Part two: Indentured servitude. The Federal Government creates medical school loans for nurses and doctors that then work at government owned clinics and hospitals for a period of time, say 10 years. These doctors and nurses work for less monetary compensation than their privately employed peers, but in exchange for this servitude, the school loans are forgiven fully. Also, military medical personnel who are leaving the service could be enticed to join the Fedsure medical community by adding their Fedsure time to their military time towards retirement. I believe there would be a lot of people take the government up on the idea of forgiving school loans in exchange for their time. After you have served your 10 years for the government you could then enter the world of private practice with 10 years of experience. The government could also use the indentured servitude model for all office personnel as well.

Part three: As a way to cut costs at Fedsure, there will be no malpractice lawsuits allowed. Everyone covered by Fedsure will have to agree to arbitration instead of a multi million dollar lawsuit. Many hospitals over seas have cut costs dramatically with just this one change. Take the lawyers out of the equation and costs will come down.

You the reader may believe this is a ridiculous idea, but this is health care reform as I see it.