That is correct. As much as Trump likes to recite that poem about a doomed lady taking in and caring for a snake, I wish he could see RINO Ryan for what he really is.

The reality is that governments at all levels are already very much involved in health care. Any system must take that reality into account. Therefore, starting from where we are now, I propose a system that moves everyone closer to being able to “be on their own.” Done carefully, this could eventually move governments at all levels out of the health care picture.

Legislation would be required to do several things: 1) remove restraint of trade barriers across state lines for insurance, 2) vastly liberalize (if you’ll pardon that term) health savings accounts.


The first item speaks for itself. The second item requires more explanation in order to see how it could work. Here is a very short version:

1. Vastly raise the limits on what individuals can contribute to an HSA. All of that limit would be tax deductible. In addition, some of that limit could also be a tax credit.
2. Allow contributions to HSAs from many sources like employer contributions, and from other individuals or charitable organizations. This would include transfers from one person’s HSA to another’s. For example, if you determined that you had more than you needed in yours, you could transfer some to any other person’s HSA.
3. HSA balances can roll from year-to-year without penalty, just like an IRA does. This permits a growing HSA account over the years and provides a comfortable health care cushion in retired years.
4. Withdrawals can be made for any health care related purpose – incidental care, health insurance of any kind, etc.

A system such as this provides an incentive to make very judicious withdrawals so that the HSA will grow over time.

The above is enough description for this venue. A more fully developed position paper on the topic was prepared by the Western North Carolina Objectivists some years ago when Obama Care was first being thrashed about in Congress and the media.

That paper is still on their website here:
http://www.wnco.org/RHSA%20Position%2...

A system such as this produces a number of worthwhile outcomes. One, it provides a mechanism and an incentive by which a person can save for his own health care requirements. Two, it moves health care cost decisions out of the hands of insurance companies or the government into the hands of the individual and his doctor(s). Three, it provides for non-coercive funding (i.e. charity) of less fortunate people’s HSAs.

Comments and criticisms from fellow Gulchers are welcome.

"Bad Hair Day" is not only fighting the Democrats but his own party. Look at the way "Lightbulb" Upton is acting. The establish doesn't want Trump to succeed.

Well said! If I were to design a health care system, the only thing that I would have to do is get the federal government out of it. A free market would then follow. And Bob's your uncle.

I thought the whole idea was to repeal Obamacare and let a competing free market sort it out.
It would not be the first time me dino has been wrong about something.
If I knew better, I still would have voted for Bad Hair Day as the best chance of beating all that the Evil Hag stood for.

Easily - remove government from health assurance entirely. Remove the restrictions prohibiting all medical insurance carriers from selling everywhere in the US. If there are monopolies with pharmaceuticals break them up and compel more consumer options the marketplace. Game over.

The free market will take care of pre-existing conditions, price gouging, and competition will bring down monthly costs for the consumer.

Government is beyond its Constitutional mandate in this and many other things. This is why its a guzzling pig. This is why we pay 30-50% in wages. This is why US children are born with a staggering bill to pay.

Obamacare is not about heath care, it's about insurance. It is not a healthcare system it is a health insurance system. I work for an Optometrist in a state where 50% of the state is on medicaid. I do the insurance and private pay billing so I see it on a daily basis. Many of the people on medicaid are working, not all certainly, but it's because they don't have to not because there aren't jobs unfilled. It really ticks me off when people come in for their 'owed' free medicaid exam and glasses and never pay their $2.00 copay. I also live on a rez, so there is Indian Healthcare, again, paid for by others. The government should get out of the way and let the private sector fill the need. There are co-ops forming continually for those that either don't want to or can't pay the premiums on the obamacare plans. They are stepping in to meet a need.

You cannot make health care affordable by playing a shell game with who is going to pay the bill. The problem isn't health care financing -- it's health care costs. No one actually thinks 17% of their earnings should go to health care but it's 17% of of GDP.

You start by getting the government out of it. Remove the laws that enshrine the AMA as the gatekeepers of care so that we can develop new and innovative ways of caring for people.

If you can't get rid of the FDA, at least limit them to determining safety. The market can determine effectiveness. As we know more about genomics we find that the effectiveness of drugs is highly variable based on genetics.

It's time to get away from the doctor with the black bag as the basis of our healthcare. In the future our primary physicians will be software based and virtually free -- you might have to look at an ad.