Eternity RPC Board
If you guys don't remember, waaay back when I had first controlled the President of Nyland (Christoffer Harrow lol) I had this topic: http://forums.eternityrpc.com/topic/11157933/1/ about the tax reform I had planned to implement. It didn't get as much traffic as I would have liked but in the end did pass, quite successfully actually.
This topic is intended to perform a similar function. One of the chief goals I have selected for this term is healthcare reform. I am confident of the legislatures ability to pass critical healthcare reform that can provide cheap, high-quality, healthcare options for ALL Nylanders.
The overall goal for this healthcare reform is to establish a Single-Payer system in Nyland. Yes, I said the naughty word. Give me time to explain myself before you bring about the criticism that may or may not be true and accurate.
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These are the primary problems with healthcare, as we know it in Nyland today. (I typically adapted stuff from the US as much as I could, and tried to adapt it to Nyland where possible)
Cost
This is the biggie. Healthcare is expensive, almost prohibitively so. The high cost of healthcare keeps people from making the choice to participate in preventative health services, visiting their doctor, dentist, etc. and on the more extreme end, seeking treatment for conditions they know they have. If they do make the choice to get treatment, they often get buried in debts they likely cannot pay. The only way out of this debt (besides obviously paying it off) is through costly bankruptcy or the effective relinquishing of their retirement savings (it does happen). Naturally, if you ask any rando on the street if they think healthcare should be more affordable, they will surely agree.
Insurance
While it is true that Nyland helps to cover costs by providing taxpayers with stipends, it should be known that the insurance system does little to help keep costs down. Insurance is one of the rare business models that benefits when its customers don't use what they paid for, so to speak. Some may argue that insurance provides peace of mind, but if I get injured, I'm not looking for peace of mind, I'm looking for them to pay my bill (that I've been indirectly paying for the whole time). By removing this from the healthcare equation (for the most part) we can remove the interest in raising prices at all (by removing the profit motive from the equation). Some will certainly balk at the idea of removing profit motive, since there is a school of thought that has the understanding that profit motive is the surest way of making progress (which is not totally unfounded) but in the end, we're not talking about hamburgers or automobiles, we're talking about peoples lives. While the profit motive will be removed from the company perspective, surely there will be individual profit motive for those in the industry, such as doctors, etc. because they'll still get paid well for their services. Be advised that there would still be private insurance, it would just not be used for mandatory procedures, so no one would be making a profit from my heart transplant, so to speak.
Unnecessary Care
Many of the criticisms for a single-payer system refer to long waits and difficult access, but these could not be further from the truth, in terms of mandatory procedures. As Sal has said below, mandatory procedures would be easy to access and waits wouldn't be that long, but non-mandatory procedures would certainly have waits. Under the current system (as it is in the US) there is still priority for mandatory services, but there is a large priority for other elective services as well that drive costs up. By isolating those elective services we can ensure that access to mandatory services get the priority they need. (if you would like, you can research some of the ways unnecessary care drives up healthcare costs. it's pretty substantial.)
Access
The chief reason for changing to this new system is access. Simply put, access to cheap and subsidized healthcare is limited at the moment to taxpayers only. There are whole sections of the population who simply don't have that access. If healthcare is believed to be a universal right in Nyland it should indeed be a universal right to all in Nyland.
~~~~
Code:
This topic is intended to perform a similar function. One of the chief goals I have selected for this term is healthcare reform. I am confident of the legislatures ability to pass critical healthcare reform that can provide cheap, high-quality, healthcare options for ALL Nylanders.
The overall goal for this healthcare reform is to establish a Single-Payer system in Nyland. Yes, I said the naughty word. Give me time to explain myself before you bring about the criticism that may or may not be true and accurate.
~~~
These are the primary problems with healthcare, as we know it in Nyland today. (I typically adapted stuff from the US as much as I could, and tried to adapt it to Nyland where possible)
Cost
This is the biggie. Healthcare is expensive, almost prohibitively so. The high cost of healthcare keeps people from making the choice to participate in preventative health services, visiting their doctor, dentist, etc. and on the more extreme end, seeking treatment for conditions they know they have. If they do make the choice to get treatment, they often get buried in debts they likely cannot pay. The only way out of this debt (besides obviously paying it off) is through costly bankruptcy or the effective relinquishing of their retirement savings (it does happen). Naturally, if you ask any rando on the street if they think healthcare should be more affordable, they will surely agree.
Insurance
While it is true that Nyland helps to cover costs by providing taxpayers with stipends, it should be known that the insurance system does little to help keep costs down. Insurance is one of the rare business models that benefits when its customers don't use what they paid for, so to speak. Some may argue that insurance provides peace of mind, but if I get injured, I'm not looking for peace of mind, I'm looking for them to pay my bill (that I've been indirectly paying for the whole time). By removing this from the healthcare equation (for the most part) we can remove the interest in raising prices at all (by removing the profit motive from the equation). Some will certainly balk at the idea of removing profit motive, since there is a school of thought that has the understanding that profit motive is the surest way of making progress (which is not totally unfounded) but in the end, we're not talking about hamburgers or automobiles, we're talking about peoples lives. While the profit motive will be removed from the company perspective, surely there will be individual profit motive for those in the industry, such as doctors, etc. because they'll still get paid well for their services. Be advised that there would still be private insurance, it would just not be used for mandatory procedures, so no one would be making a profit from my heart transplant, so to speak.
Unnecessary Care
Many of the criticisms for a single-payer system refer to long waits and difficult access, but these could not be further from the truth, in terms of mandatory procedures. As Sal has said below, mandatory procedures would be easy to access and waits wouldn't be that long, but non-mandatory procedures would certainly have waits. Under the current system (as it is in the US) there is still priority for mandatory services, but there is a large priority for other elective services as well that drive costs up. By isolating those elective services we can ensure that access to mandatory services get the priority they need. (if you would like, you can research some of the ways unnecessary care drives up healthcare costs. it's pretty substantial.)
Access
The chief reason for changing to this new system is access. Simply put, access to cheap and subsidized healthcare is limited at the moment to taxpayers only. There are whole sections of the population who simply don't have that access. If healthcare is believed to be a universal right in Nyland it should indeed be a universal right to all in Nyland.
~~~~
Code:
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The Healthcare Reform for All Act of 1585 (HRA85) |
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Assembly Bill 1585.077 |
| Drafted by: Angelica Parker-Olsen (NCDA), Kraig Parker (MCN), Hannah Koch (UP) Submitted by: Erik van Holkiet (MCN) Submit Date: (Date submitted to be heard on the floor. (answer this)) Hearing Date: (Date the bill was heard on the floor. (leave blank)) Revision Date: (Latest revision date of the bill. (leave blank)) Summary: The Healthcare Reform for All Act of 1585 seeks to reform Nylands healthcare system to establish a new single-payer system. The bill will establish a single government social insurance program called Medicare that will provide healthcare insurance for all in Nyland. This program will be funded by the establishment of a mostly flat payroll tax on all Nyland personal income. This bill is intended to address the rising costs in healthcare by removing the profit-motive from the system. By ensuring the primary healthcare provider, Medicare, is not operating for profit, costs across Nyland can be cut to the benefit of Nylander citizens. Section 1: Medicare I) The government will establish a single governmental social insurance program. This program shall be called Medicare. II) Medicare will be the primary provider for all Nylander healthcare services. III) Medicare will be a non-profit organization, funded by the government. IV) Non-Medicare providers will still be allowed to exist, and can be used alongside Medicare. Section 2: What Coverage is Provided I) All medical procedures will be covered by Medicare. II) For non-elective medical procedures, Medicare will pay for the entirety of the cost (minus a minimal co-pay) III) For non-cosmetic elective medical procedures, Medicare will pay for most of the costs, but not all. (coverage rates depend on the given procedure, naturally) IV) For cosmetic elective medical procedures, Medicare will pay for some costs, but not all. (coverage rates depend on the given procedure, and why they are being undertaken) V) In the event that the individual is unable to pay for their procedure up-front (considering elective procedures), Medicare will pay for the procedure and offer free financing options to the individual in question. VI) The definitions of non-elective, non-cosmetic elective, and cosmetic elective, will be decided by the Department of Health and must be approved by the Legislature. Section 3: Who Recieves Coverage I) Any person in Nyland with a valid Medicare ID will be covered by Medicare. II) A Medicare ID will be provided to all citizens of Nyland III) Temporary Medicare IDs will also be provided to those non-citizens who are permitted to stay in Nyland legally a) These temporary Medicare IDs will be provided for the duration of their stay in Nyland, but will have to be renewed once per year for the duration of their stay Section 4: The Medicare Tax I) Medicare shall be funded by a flat payroll tax that shall be called "the Medicare Tax" II) Medicare Tax shall be applied to all Nylander personal income III) Medicare Tax will be taken from each paycheck, rather than at the end of the year. IV) Medicare tax shall start at 10% a) Half (5%) shall be paid by individuals, while the other half (5%) shall be paid by employers V) Nylanders with incomes less than $25,000 (or otherwise in the 0% tax bracket) can apply for a credit equal to half of their Medicare Tax payments over the year. |