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| Home > Daily Notes Archive |
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DISASTER LOOMS FOR HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF TENNESSEANS!
May 25, 2005 - 07:00
Within the next few days Governor Phil Bredesen wants to begin the process of removing hundreds of thousands of Tennesseans from the rolls of Tenncare. Those folks will join about 600,000 other Tennesseans who do not have insurance today, as well as about 200,000 illegal aliens in the state who are also uninsured. All of these people will still show up in hospitals and emergency rooms, but the costs of their care will be hidden as part of the health care costs and insurance premiums passed along to others. The Governor has not proposed anything to deal with the million Tennesseans who will have no affordable health care option. The Legislature has not proposed anything to deal with the million Tennesseans who will have no affordable health care option. I have, and you can find the TNCares Plan at www.gillreport.com.
The plan is pretty simple. The law would require all Tennesseans to purchase health care insurance if it is not already available to them through their work, just like we require the purchase of car insurance in Tennessee. Second, the people being dumped from TennCare, the 600,000 who are uninsured today, and the approximately 200,000 illegals in the state would have access to a health insurance plan that would have a relatively high deductible ($2500 to $4000, depending on premium choice), would cost between $30 to $50 per month for most people, would provide access to discounted medical care and pharmacy benefits, and would put consumers of health care back into the driver's seat in the health care system. Finally, a self-sustaining "safety net" loan program funded by the State and Federal government would help those who are truly needy and cannot afford the deductible costs out-of-pocket.
Some will say, "but the poor can't afford to pay for their healthcare." A lot of the million who will soon be uninsured are not "poor", they have simply made the choice to take a risky gamble in order to spend their money on other things. In third world countries people don't expect FREE healthcare, they bring a live chicken to the doctor to pay for what they get. For the cost of about a pack of cigarettes or a soft drink a day, millions of Tennesseans will have affordable health insurance to cover them in the event of a major illness or accident. Most of them will not spend anything close to the deductible amount each year, and for them this system will be much more affordable than those paying $400 a month for health care with lower deductible requirements.
By putting the consumer back into the health care process, people will make choices based on care and cost, just like everything else we purchase. There are really very few things that we buy today with no concern for cost because somebody else is paying the bill. One of the reasons we have so much waste, fraud and abuse in the health care system is the fact that the consumers of health care don't pay the bills...directly. The next time you are in an all-you-can-eat restaurant take a look at how much leftover food is on all the plates as they clear the tables. Then compare that to a place where you pay per item. We have long had an "all-you-can-eat" mentality in the health care system, and we should not be surprised at the level of waste, fraud and abuse that has grown from that misguided method of distributing health care. TNCares will reverse that trend.
Take a look at the plan and call in this morning with your thoughts and ideas for improving upon it.
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| Daily Notes Archive for
May 2005 : |
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