A NEW APPROACH TO HEALTH REFORM

Subject: txt hcare XFERED? "" in yahoo mail? NNB links?
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has an idea to fix health reform. In his "Road Map for America's Future," reintroduced this month:

• Americans would take refundable tax credits -- $2,300 for singles and $5,700 for families -- and choose private insurance.
• All insurance plans that are licensed in a particular state would be eligible, and each company would be free to set its own premiums.
• Low-income individuals would get extra tax credits so they could buy the same kind of health care as other Americans.

What about Medicare?

• Medicare would remain the same for current beneficiaries and for those 55 and older when they reach 65.
• But when those born in 1955 or later become eligible for Medicare at age 65, their plan would change.
• They would receive $11,000, adjusted for inflation, to buy a Medicare certified plan.
• Those with lower incomes or with more serious health conditions would receive more funding.

Further:

• Health insurance companies could offer high-deductible plans carrying lower premiums combined with health savings accounts, or more traditional managed care or fee-for-service plans.
• Persons with high-cost chronic illnesses, such as hemophilia or diabetes, would be placed in special affordable state high risk pools, with subventions paid by the government.

On Wednesday, Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf wrote to Ryan to tell him that this plan reduced health care costs and the federal deficit. He said:

"Under the proposal, national health expenditures would almost certainly be lower than they would under the alternative fiscal scenario. Federal spending for health care would be substantially lower, relative to the amount in that scenario, for working-age people and the Medicare population."

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['New' approach?

*FLASHBACKs :

Thursday, August 20, 2009

REPUBLICAN HEALTH CARE IDEAS

• The Ryan-Burr proposal would allow employees to opt out of their employer-based insurance plan and get a $5,000-per-family tax credit to buy health insurance or pay medical bills.
• It would also allow individuals and businesses to form pools and buy insurance anywhere in the country, not just in the state where they live.
• This will greatly expand the choices of coverage available to consumers and will also encourage broader competition and diversity among insurers.
• Along with practically every other plan, Democratic and Republican, the conservative plan would require insurance companies to offer insurance regardless of a person's pre-existing medical condition.

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"SUPPORT RYAN-BURR, KIRK-DENT PROPOSALS "

Senate-Reid: http://reid.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm
House-Pelosi: http://speaker.house.gov/contact/
YOUR Senator: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
YOUR Congressman: https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml
or: Speed Message them with your personal distribution list...
and as always, pass it on...

Monday, July 13, 2009

THE RYAN PLAN

"Having the government compete against the private sector is kind of like my seven-year-old daughter's lemonade stand competing against McDonalds"
Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.)

Ryan argues that providing every American with a tax-free voucher specifically for the purchase of health insurance not only levels the playing field, but puts consumers in the position to make the health care choices that make sense to them.

Obviously, a lot of disentanglement would have to take place there involving regulations that have taken root over the years in all 50 states, but this is true consumer empowerment long overdue...

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Tuesday, March 17, 2009

STAGED

President Obama has used events such as community discussion groups and last week's summit to foster the impression that he is soliciting opinions from all angles of the health care debate, but the reality is a lot different. Obscured by the Administration's theatrics is the fact that it has kept at bay those who advocate free-market solutions rather than government-run health care.

The guest list to the [prior] 'summit' was a telling sign. Despite having representatives from 169 different labor, industry, and policy organizations, the White House did not invite any organizations that advocate a consumer-based free-market approach to health care.

Shadegg noted that other lawmakers who weren't invited included free marketers such as Rep. Paul Ryan...

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