Gig 601XL Builder writes:

Tort reform would help. As it is now if you go to the Doctor with a cold he
is more likly than not to run tests that aren't going to find anything other
than you have a cold because of the off chance that you might have something
else.

How would you handle doctors who are truly guilty of malpractice? What sort
of reforms would you enact?

Higher deductible are a good thing for a couple of reasons. They make the
insured take more care when they decide to see a doctor. In the US it is not
unusual for people to go to the doctor when they really don't need to
because all it is going to cost them, out of their own pocket at that moment
is $30.00. When they do the first issue comes into play.

I've always thought it would be nice to have a policy that requires you to pay
back any medical expenses in the last six months of your life out of your
estate. Most people run up more than half their lifetime medical bills during
their terminal illness. If you exclude these bills from coverage, you can
dramatically lower premiums. And since you can't take it with you, there no
reason not to use the estate to pay the final bills.

A better fix than the higher deductable is a Health Savings Account. It has
all the systemic benefits of the high deductable and really causes people to
take ownership of their health care.

People have very little control over whether or not they get sick. Most
cannot save enough to pay for major medical care, no matter how hard they try,
and no matter how healthy they stay. The first hospital visit will wipe out
their savings (as it routinely does already for many people).

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