How’s this for an alternative stimulus package:
The feds will pick up health care insurance cost for all citizens. There will be no more employer paid programs.
On the surface this sounds (OK – – I’ll say it) – – stupid.
But the more I think about it, the more it seems like this approach may have merit.
Consider a basic plan for all of us. It would cost say, $5,000 a person. This is a total of 1.5 trillion +/-. However, the gov’t is already paying the medical cost for all its workers, the military, and the various aspects of medicaid and medicare. So, as a guess, let’s say it costs half that amount.
The basic idea here is that at some point we really need to divorce health care from the work place. This is the major anti-competitive factor in the US economy. To turn this massive ship around will take many $$. So while we’re spending the $$ anyway, let’s do it here.
Consider the benefits: businesses will no longer shoulder the burden of health care costs. This helps out those businesses, non-profit organizations, and, of course, all those people paying for health care themselves along with those that didn’t have any health care at all.
But whose going to pay? Well, who is paying for the other suggested bailouts? We borrow the money. At some point, taxes will have to be raised to pay these costs. This is as it should be. General taxes should be paying for basic health care costs and not businesses and organizations.
I think divorcing health care from work will result in a surge of entrepreneurism because people will no longer need to work for a company because they provide health care insurance.
Is this a way to go or what???
PJ