Effective Legislation

Bush wants $70 Billion from Medicare and Medicaid according to this article. Federal Spending on the two programs is listed as totaling $554 Billion last year (for reasons known only to myself, I think they are about $60 bn short). Spending on these programs are expected to rise by more than 7% per year (Optimists aren’t they?). The article states Bush’s main attack is on the Health Care Providers (is that a Joke!), because he wants to suppress inflationary-payments to Health Care Providers, and freeze Medicare and Medicaid payments. The article says the Bush Budget expects Medicare payments to Doctors to be cut by 8% next year. It finally makes much of Bush not attempting Curbs to privately-managed Care plans.

What will be Saved in this Budget which will not pass Congress?

The Approach, first of all, is all wrong. Democrats and Republicans both concentrate on Budget Dollars and Percentages, not on what is wrong with the Health Care system. The focus of the Health Care industry must be altered; not on how to keep the Checking Account from being Overdrawn when the Doctors write too many Checks. We must protect the Health Care industry from itself, and do this through proper legislation which does not deny Care. The final Result desired is reduction of Health Care Costs.

Effective Legislation to reduce Health Care Costs:

1) An Act empowering Cities, Counties, and Parishes to declare Protected Health Zones, where the practice of Medicine requires not only a License, but Practitioners must be salaried Employees of the Governing Body who enacted the Requirement. Salaried Employees cannot charge for their medical provision inside the Protected Health Zone where they are employed, or can they refer Patients to medical attention outside of the Protected Health Zone. The Federal legislation empowering these Zones will allow Public Condemnation of all Health facilities within the radius of the Zone, if and only if these condemned facilities are owned by a Non-Profit corporate structure. All Patients will retain the right to seek medical assistance from outside these Zones, but Medicare and Medicaid reserves the right to restrict Patient medical payments to levels equivalent to what Charges come from these Protected Health Zones.

2) Medicare and Medicaid payments for Drugs will be restricted to only Those Drugs which have already been on the Market a full Five years of their Patent life, and whose benefits have been verified by extensive usage. The Health Care industry has been in business for a long time, and has managed to provide Us with Health Care sufficient to keep All alive this long, and so the previous Drug base is equal to the task of continuing to provide Us with Health Care. This will imposed by specific legislation passed by Congress and President.

3) Medical Schools and other Medical Training facilities will henceforth be required to justify their restriction of Student Body size, and Medical Associations will have to identify and justify exactly what medical procedures must be reserved for Those with a Medical Degree. lgl