This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The current and proposed health care systems rely upon a combination of expensive health insurance and several expensive government programs that are funded by state and federal taxes. I propose a universal system that relies upon a single federal health tax that ranges from 10 percent to 20 percent of income, and places everyone on Medicare.
All medical treatments/equipment, physical and mental therapies, dentistry and drugs would be covered, even if you have a pre-existing condition. You would only pay the health tax and a small co-pay for services and drugs. You would not need to buy insurance, not even the deductible version, which causes the patient to pay all costs until they reach a high level.
Your state and federal taxes would go down, because Medicaid and Obamacare would end.
The health tax would be deducted from paychecks. The Treasury Department would transfer these taxes to Medicare, 90 percent to a Medicare Checking Account (held by Medicare) and 10 percent to a Medicare Reserve Account (held by three large private banks that pay interest). No borrowing would ever be required. Medicare would use these funds to reimburse the clinics and hospitals for their services, and the pharmacies for their drugs.
Instead of Medicare using price controls, which never work, it would ask all providers and pharmacies to submit their prices. Those whose prices are below average, would be listed on a "Medicare Preferred Businesses List," and they would be referred by Medicare (open 24/7) to patients who contact Medicare by phone, email, or U.S. Mail. Patients would have the option of going through Medicare for referrals, or just going directly to a clinic, hospital or independent doctor of their choice.
Conservative politicians have said that Americans should be able to buy the amount of insurance they want, when they want it. My reply: What if millions of Americans choose not to buy insurance, or buy an inadequate amount, and then incur an expensive disease or accident? If they cannot pay for the treatments and drugs, the rest of us will end up providing socialistic care for them, right? Why not adopt the above partially socialistic system which spreads out the cost for everyone, and covers everyone now and in the future? It would be better than the systems in Canada and France.
In order for the poor to pay the minimum 10 percent rate, a national minimum wage of $9 per hour would need to be passed, although some states may offer more.
Stephen Clark, Salt Lake City, has a Bachelor of Science degree in political science and has been an activist for political and social causes for many years.