Introduction and Purpose

There is something wrong with the American health care system!
That is not news, it is the current state of affairs. It does not, however, mean that it is time to throw away that system in favor of socialized systems which have proven themselves unsuccessful repeatedly in other countries. We have the solutions already built into our legal and tax structure, if only Americans would stand up and take the action necessary to remove control and manipulation from the powers on capital hill, the overpaid executives in health insurance company offices, the unions, and the media establishment, which suppresses access to information.

I have been in the practice of medicine for 40 years.

During that time we experienced the development of Medicare, Medicaid, the domination of medical decision making and financing by third parties (including insurance companies and the government--state and federal), the breakdown in the fiduciary relationship between physicians and hospitals and their patients, and the development of government programs to allow some costs born by consumers to be tax deferred (e.g. H.R.A.'s, M. S.A.'s, F.S.A.'s etc.).

We have also experienced the pain of patients being under served, frustrated and harmed by H.M.O.'s through their cost focused management; confronting the economic threat of ever increasing health insurance premiums, losing power and control in their dealings with their providers and the insurance companies.

More recently we seem to be experiencing an increasing number of consumers going without health insurance coverage because of the cost of the insurance to them or to their employer.

Soooo---What if we had a choice to create for ourselves a program which had all (not just some, but all) of the following benefits:

YOU receive:

· Choice of plan options.

· Choice of providers.

· Control of your routine and preventive care needs.

· Control of you own health care decisions.

· Control of medical costs.

· Quality provider service.

· A personal Health Savings Account-paid for with before tax dollars.

· A high deductible catastrophic health insurance policy, paid by before tax dollars.

Your Employer receives:

· The option of providing consumer-driven health care products to their employees.

· A defined level of contribution.

· A means to constrain costs thereby reducing annual double-digit benefit cost increases.

· A significant reduction in administrative costs.

· Relief from the costs and risks of health benefits management.

Your doctor and your Hospital receive:

· Instant payment for services through use of a debit (medical identification) card.

· Increased patient volume.

· Significant reduction in administrative paper flow and costs.

· Reduced malpractice exposure

· Elimination of collection costs and risks.

Your Government receives:
less program management cost
less people uninsured
less bureaucratic micromanagement of health care

This free market approach will stimulate competition, improve the quality of health care, restore the proper fiduciary relationship between the consumer and providers, and remove third parties from the micro-management of health care.

The free market approach to which I refer is the Health Savings Account or H.S.A.

Well, it sounds almost too good to be true, and it provokes the question:

Why, if this is already enabled by Congress and built into the Internal Revenue Code, is it not being universally utilized?

That is one of the questions I will pose for the audience of this blog, as we seek to answer some the questions never asked by the media, and to seek out solutions to the puzzle of solving Americas health care system problems.

If in your business or your personal life or in your imagination, you have pondered such a question, and would like to contribute to the discussion on this site, I welcome your contribution.

One of the goals is to engage people interested in solving the economic puzzle of
American medicine through individual empowerment, individual action, and collective strength and impact.

By way of disclaimer, I will point out that I have no vested interest in the sale or marketing of Health Savings Accounts (or any other insurance product). I do believe, however, that we can create a very large focus group, which can bring parties interested in the economic impact of H.S.A.'s together to address some of the communication shortfalls of the mass media, advance knowledge and interest throughout the country (and perhaps the world) and expand the utilization of H.S.A.'s for the benefit of all.

Sooo-I will ask the next question: Do you want to stand by and watch as the liberals recreate the failing systems of socialized countries, or do you want to STAND UP AND BE COUNTED among the millions who have chosen to take the responsibility for their health and their health care financing?