Health Care Reform--part 1

America is also in the midst of a health care crisis. With over 45 million uninsured Citizens and Medical Costs increasing at an annual double digit rate, something must be done and soon. But both ends of the poliitcal spectrum have their own dug in beliefs: Michael Moore with Sicko indicates government single payer systems such as UK or Canada is preferred to that of the US. THe conservatives indicate a HSA choice based system is best. Neither extreme is the answer. The national health systems fail to provide timely health care (rationing) and often is behind the times. At the other end, President Bush's "do it yourself" notion of giving everyone $12,000 deduction towards buying medical insurance is void of any realities (Who is most likely to be uninsured: medium to low income families and the newly unemployed--both groups simply do not have the income to afford the 12,000 to afford insurance costs regardless of the deduction offered).

Where is the middle ground. Perhaps we can best start by asking ourselves what should be the government's role in health care? The best bang for your buck is in preventive medicine. Government funding of the following makes sense and can provide high and quick ROI.
1) All vaccines for all children should be covered and required.
2) Vaccines for all new citizens and immigrants should be covered and required.
3) An annual physician exam with blood test should be available to all citizens (Even at $30 billion a year, the returns would be tremendous
4) similarly, annual teeth cleaning and analysis would pay for itself quickly.
5) Five year continuous birth control for teen age girls age 10,14,18 as well as for any female on welfare. Reduction of teenage pregnancies and the subsequent costs would easily pay for itself.
6) All companies and entities should require that discharged or laid off or employees who quit should continue to be maintained on company health plans for up to 6 months and that COBRA coverage should be unlimited in duration.

Medicare and medicaid should be the provider of last resort.