Journal

A health care reform solution to please consumers, government, and private insurers

Leighton Weese — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:51:39 +0000

Problems We Face

(1) Problems for consumers: (a) lack of competition in current system, making prices higher than otherwise; (b) difficulty comparison shopping due to a wide variety of plans offered

(2) Problems for government: (a) liability for government of running a gigantic insurance company, if they start a public option (Medicare already has an unfunded liability in the trillions - imagine if eligibility is extended to the whole population!); (b) since every company can have such differences in underwriting standards, ratemaking, and loss experience, it is difficult for regulators to determine whether or not the premiums being charged are reasonable.

(3) Problems for private insurers: (a) New, small insurers can't compete against bigger insurers; (b) bigger insurers face an unlevel playing field themselves if the government forms its own plan. Medicare's unfunded liability is due to government's tendency to underestimate costs, so it is reasonable to expect that government will charge inadequate premiums and consumers will flock from the private insurers to the underpriced public plan.

Solution:

Mao Tse-tung, his political philosophy, and Anita Dunn

Leighton Weese — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:17:22 +0000

After Glenn Beck revealed a video showing White House Communications Director Anita Dunn telling a group of high school students that one of her favorite philosophers was Mao Tse-tung (Mao Zedong), I did some quick research on Mao and prematurely commented in a discussion that Mao united China and deserved credit. I have since done further research, and I was wrong. China was on the right track until Mao took over. I have summarized the results of my research below. Please be forewarned, history is not my strongest suit, and I relied heavily on Wikipedia for my research, but I took a lot of pains to try to get the history right. I am focusing on health care policy issues and have not documented sources like I normally would. Please comment if you find something that is incorrect.

Letter to Senators on Health Care Bill

Leighton Weese — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 20:01:55 +0000

I have examined the Senate Finance Committee bill and made suggestions below that I hope you will review and respond to. Please let me know what I can do to help support a bipartisan bill that is fiscally responsible, provides universal coverage, preserves free markets, and improves healthcare outcomes.

Comparing the healthcare proposals

Leighton Weese — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:52:38 +0000

Here is a site where you can do a side by side comparison of all the health plans being considered by the Congress.

Senators Ask Reid and Baucus for More Time to Weigh Health Care Bills

Leighton Weese — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:47:00 +0000

This is good:

"A group of centrist Democratic senators, who could determine the fate of the major health care legislation, sent a letter Tuesday to the majority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, urging that the public be given at least 72 hours to review the legislation before debate begins on the Senate floor."

Why make insurance mandatory?

Leighton Weese — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:42:43 +0000

Here's the problem. People make bad decisions. They don't save for retirement or for a rainy day. They spend their money foolishly. This is not necessarily because they have poor moral character, but because they don't know any better. Then when they get into a bad situation, we feel that if we don't help them, we are being cruel/inhumane. So when disaster strikes, we jump in to help, even if that means we individually or as a society suffer. So we end up paying for other people's bad decisions. To do what is best for humanity in the long run, we have two choices as I see it:

Setting fair health insurance premiums

Leighton Weese — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:07:31 +0000

I propose a ratemaking bureau for health insurance...

My Healthcare Policy Proposal

Leighton Weese — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:58:06 +0000

By Leighton Weese, independent talking head

I suggest a healthcare policy that combines mandatory health savings accounts for regular preventive care, mandatory high-deductible insurance that covers unexpected large health expenses, and welfare payments to cover these mandates for people that can't afford them.

"Man vs. God" WSJ article: my response

Leighton Weese — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 01:17:18 +0000

Karen Armstrong (former Catholic nun): "In the past, many [religious] thinkers understood "God" [as] a symbol whose existence cannot be proved. St Augustine (354-430) insisted a biblical text contradict[ing] reputable science must be interpreted allegorically. [Reason] enabled function, but could not assuage grief or find ultimate meaning [like] stories [with] no pretensions to historical accuracy."

Why pro-lifers should be thankful for Roe V. Wade

Leighton Weese — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 01:02:19 +0000

I saw the following message in a discussion forum online. I too, am pro-life, and found this perspective enlightening. I hope you do too.

Pro-lifers should be thankful for Roe V Wade. Roe V Wade allows abortion clinics to be in the public eye, instead of in secret. While in the public eye, abortion clinics can be used as means for education and abortion prevention.

Pro-lifers can try to convince a person to not abort a child. They can provide additional choices for keeping a child - like adoption. With Roe V Wade, abortion clinics can be monitored by the US government and controlled by some procedural guidelines.

If Roe V Wade is overturned, abortion clinics will go underground.