My Healthcare Wish List

I am not a medical professional or an expert in healthcare reform. But I am a parent in a family that has been a heavy user of the current healthcare system.

From the things I've observed and read, I've created a list of the things that I think could make a significant difference in the way healthcare is both provided and consumed in America.

1. Eliminate the employer's role in the healthcare system. The current system creates too much separation between healthcare decisions made by the consumer (with his/her doctor) and the costs associated with those decisions. Including the employer/employee/compensation dynamic into the equation adds an additional layer of confusion and complexity.

2. Require (as California has done) all healthcare providers to publish a price list for services provided. Competition improves quality and lowers price. It's time healthcare providers felt a little competition by virtue of consumers finally being able to shop around.

3. Separate catastrophic healthcare insurance coverage from health maintenance coverage. Insurance in every other part of our lives is for protection against catastrophic occurrences. The idea that our health insurance should cover our day-to-day health expenses is crazy. If someone chooses to pay for some kind of health maintenance plan it should be a completely separate plan/product/purchase decision.

4. Medical liability limits and reforms. Lawyers have turned going to the doctor into the malpractice lottery. Certainly, doctors who make egregious errors must be held accountable. But one of the drivers of more expensive healthcare is outrageous malpractice insurance rates.

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