For many of us the problem of affordable heath care is a daunting and scary process, the health care and drug industry have spent the past few years in a enterprise of misdirection with the American people over the growing cost of health care. First of all do not be fooled by the all the talk of the “trial lawyers”, to think that all of a sudden Lawyers just started chasing ambulances in the past five years , is not only naive, but slightly absurd. The cost of lawsuits is a drop in the bucket to an industry that operates on profit margins in the billions, and the ugly truth is the only thing Corporations understand is money, without the lawsuits we could not control them.
The fact is that administrative costs, as well as inflated executive salaries, and a host of “hidden fees” and just plain greed are the true culprits.
What can working people do up against a system armed with armies of lobbyists and lawyers at their command. Organizations that will sell, and profit from drugs and procedures that may or may not be what they claim they are. The answer may surprise you.
JaneCare- affordable health care for all Memphis residents.
The plan is simple, The city of Memphis would set up a legal entity called JaneCare and that incorporation would be open to membership to any resident of Memphis, Once the target number of applicants has been reached, “200, 000, the city of Memphis could then use the membership of JaneCare to collectively bargain with the health care providers, for a bulk rate that would lower the overall costs to the consumer to an affordable level. This rate would account for an expected number of drop outs and based on a formula to maintain fiscal balance.
The principal of health care is simple, in the fact that those who pay..always have and always will pay more, as they offset the loss of those who cannot, or simply do not pay. The current problems arise when the equilibrium in this economic food chain is disrupted, now because of the economic hardships we face today, the number of those who pay has decreased, and the number of those not paying has increased….therefore the logical way to lower cost for all is to restore the balance in the system, and allowing private citizens to unite and bargain in numbers for better prices will result in a net gain of Americans paying for Health care, thus reducing the burden on those who currently do, and reducing the amount of public funds needed to support the overwhelmed emergency services.
The corporations do it, when they negotiate health care packages for their employees, unions do it for their members, so why cannot normal working Americans do the same?
The fact is folks is that you are already paying for it, you pay for it with your high premiums, your high co pay, and your tax dollars to go to government programs that support those who do not have insurance. That being said if you are going to pay for a system anyway, then let’s make it a system that liberates people from poverty and government assistance, not one that traps people in poverty and jacks the cost, of “life” so high many of us cannot afford to live.
JaneCare would also have a local stimulative effect on the economy as now people would not wait until their death beds to go get medical attention, which will give the long term benefit of quality of life, but also the economic benefit of increased revenue, and jobs in the local medical sector. The American worker does not want a hand out. The American worker does not want charity. The American worker wants and deserves a health care system he can afford, and that he or she can pay on their own.
The government of this city would simply facilitate this process, by cutting out the middle men and thus avoid alot of the administrative cost that Health care providers deal with.
The benefit could also be seen as as more and more people sign up, thus the bargaining power of Janecare will grow as well. Corporations could also benefit as if Janecare benefits surpassed the insurance the corp provides, many of their employees will let their company policy drop in favor of Janecare, while at the same time allowing them to cut their own Human resources costs.One thing Corporations love doing…cutting costs.
Small businesses will be able to join in and thus provide benefits for their employees at a lower cost.Is this universal health care…no….is this a free ride…no You will still get that bill in your mail box, and you will still have to pay it or be dropped from coverage, but this could be an effective way of checking the unmatched and sometimes predatory tactics of an industry that now is spiraling out of control.
The final benefit I can see is an advancement of the city’s image and over time, affordable health care in the Memphis city limits would have a curbing effect on “White Flight ”
as well as attract new resident back to the city. In time property owners in this city would see their homes increase in value.
The working people of Memphis work very hard, and they do this for less and less as the years go by, They live in a city where crime is unchecked, where our education system is failing our young, and a leadership from downtown to Washington D.C. that turns a blind eye to their plight…is it really so much to ask that they be allowed to get medicine and medical treatment when they are sick?
Is it too much to ask that their children not suffer because of the family and neighborhood they were born into?
Do only the well to do have a right to live?
Comments are closed.