Donald Trump has a 7-point healthcare plan

[Kreton]

It really does look like they just googled up "healthcare reform ideas", and smashed a quick list together, so as to avoid getting mocked any more about the "Lines Around The States" plan. :lol: man. this election. If you wrote it as a novel, people would assume it was satire. :lol:

Are you saying it isn't? I am waiting for a large group of politicians to jump out on an ad and yell "GOTCHA" and we'd all laugh and concede that they had in fact got us. Shortly after they'd announce the real candidates.

 

[Phys251]

Donald Trump has a 7-point healthcare plan | McClatchy DC



Damn you donald, I LIKE that plan, I hate you though, still stayin home.

Actually, his seven-point plan is:

1. Screw you, middle class America!
2. Screw you, middle class America!
...
7. Screw you, middle class America!

 

[sangha]

It really does look like they just googled up "healthcare reform ideas", and smashed a quick list together, so as to avoid getting mocked any more about the "Lines Around The States" plan. :lol: man. this election. If you wrote it as a novel, people would assume it was satire. :lol:

Satire?

It's a great plan! In fact, it's the greatest plan ever. I had the best people come up with this plan, and once it gets passed it will make our health care great again!

 

[cpwill]

Are you saying it isn't? I am waiting for a large group of politicians to jump out on an ad and yell "GOTCHA" and we'd all laugh and concede that they had in fact got us. Shortly after they'd announce the real candidates.

One of the best comments I've seen thus far: "I can't shake the feeling that it's the last season of America, and the writers are just going nuts"

 

[reinoe]

It really does look like they just googled up "healthcare reform ideas", and smashed a quick list together, so as to avoid getting mocked any more about the "Lines Around The States" plan. :lol: man. this election. If you wrote it as a novel, people would assume it was satire. :lol:

I don't disagree with this possibility. What's interesting is even if that is true it's still actually better than most of the GOP plans that have been getting kicked around for the past 8 years or so. Which suggests that Trump does indeed have the best googlers in the field.

 

[Greenbeard]

If the same plan in ND cost 100 a month and It costs 500 in NY why can't I go spend 100 in ND? what does it matter. you are wrong.

Because you don't live in North Dakota. Your premium reflects what your insurer has to pay out for care, which reflects the costs of the physicians and hospitals they're paying. If you want to go get care in North Dakota, then fine you can pay North Dakota premiums. If you want to get care from providers in New York, then you have to pay premiums that reflect what providers in New York cost.

I don't get to complain about rent in Boston and demand someone somehow magically import Fargo rents to the Boston area. If I want to pay Fargo rent, I have to go live in Fargo. If you want your premiums to reflect the costs of North Dakota's provider market, you need to go live in North Dakota. Or at least commit to having a provider network limited to North Dakota providers.

Three weeks ago he was talking about how much he liked the mandate. The fact that, after the last debate, someone on his staff realized that they should google "conservative ideas about healthcare policy" doesn't give me even the slightest confidence that he means it or would stick to it.

Trump's "plan" displays about as much thought and understanding of health policy as the rest of the field. Because this list of bumper stickers is the definitive statement of the GOP's position on this issue.

They all google this junk.

Not to mention his "plan" is the same things many republicans have said for years that has had little enthusiasm. The Donald says it and "oh wow great plan"

I'm actually more amused by the conservatives who suddenly realize this list is actually a stupid, profoundly underwhelming plan now that Trump has signed on. Rubio can write an op-ed pushing the exact same vague, hand-waving crap and he's brilliant! The future of the party!

 

[reinoe]

Because you don't live in North Dakota. Your premium reflects what your insurer has to pay out for care, which reflects the costs of the physicians and hospitals they're paying. If you want to go get care in North Dakota, then fine you can pay North Dakota premiums. If you want to get care from providers in New York, then you have to pay premiums that reflect what providers in New York cost.

I don't get to complain about rent in Boston and demand someone somehow magically import Fargo rents to the Boston area. If I want to pay Fargo rent, I have to go live in Fargo. If you want your premiums to reflect the costs of North Dakota's provider market, you need to go live in North Dakota. Or at least commit to having a provider network limited to North Dakota providers.

Perhaps if enough people repeat it to him in different ways it'll sink in...

 

[sangha]

Perhaps if enough people repeat it to him in different ways it'll sink in...

I doubt it

 

[ludin]

Because you don't live in North Dakota. Your premium reflects what your insurer has to pay out for care, which reflects the costs of the physicians and hospitals they're paying. If you want to go get care in North Dakota, then fine you can pay North Dakota premiums. If you want to get care from providers in New York, then you have to pay premiums that reflect what providers in New York cost.

it is obvious you don't get it. if ND can offer it for 100 then so can NY if they can't then they are ripping people off.
I shouldn't have to live somewhere to get the best price possible. that is not how any other service works in this country neither should insurance.

I don't get to complain about rent in Boston and demand someone somehow magically import Fargo rents to the Boston area. If I want to pay Fargo rent, I have to go live in Fargo. If you want your premiums to reflect the costs of North Dakota's provider market, you need to go live in North Dakota. Or at least commit to having a provider network limited to North Dakota providers.

There is a difference in housing and goods and services. insurance is another service that has 0 competition within state markets.
by introducing competition from outside vendors and out of state pricing insurance companies then have to compete with each other.

that will drive down costs. this is basic economics.

Trump's "plan" displays about as much thought and understanding of health policy as the rest of the field. Because this list of bumper stickers is the definitive statement of the GOP's position on this issue.

which shows he know and the GOP knows more about than any democrat so far.

I'm actually more amused by the conservatives who suddenly realize this list is actually a stupid, profoundly underwhelming plan now that Trump has signed on. Rubio can write an op-ed pushing the exact same vague, hand-waving crap and he's brilliant! The future of the party!

actually it is a very good plan which many conservatives have been talking about for years.
it is far better than any plan that democrats have come up with which is nothing but to drive
the cost of healthcare and insurance higher than before.

PS still waiting on my 2500 reduction and haven't gotten it yet.
got a bunch of premium increases though.

 

[ludin]

Perhaps if enough people repeat it to him in different ways it'll sink in...

really so you only call 1 person to find a price on a service or do you call 4 or 5 people to get the best price possible?
doesn't work that way with insurance but it should.

which is why the people in ND pay 100 instead of the 400 that people in NY pay.

let the people in NY buy the same plan in ND for 100 and I bet the insurance prices in NY fall like a rock.

 

[Absentglare]

Donald Trump has a 7-point healthcare plan | McClatchy DC



Damn you donald, I LIKE that plan, I hate you though, still stayin home.

I am pleasantly surprised.

Honestly, i don't think this would be a total disaster. I disagree with removing the individual mandate. Health premiums being tax deductible ? I thought they already were as long as you spend a lot of your income. I guess i don't mind making them completely tax deductible.

We do need more transparency in costs among different healthcare providers within an insurance pool. It's not necessarily that the information is always completely unavailable, but it's certainly not conveniently accessible. We also need pharmaceutical drug reform. Patent laws were designed to incentivize innovation, not price gouge consumers in life or death situations.

Still, this sounds like a lot of wishful thinking but it feels a little fuzzy on some of the important details.

 

[tres borrachos]

Yeah, and you have to use it annually, he's talking about one that you can just build up and pass on to a loved one if you die. Big diff

But again, how does that lower health care costs? Me building up an account, which, like cpwill, I already have - 2 of them in fact, my husband and I each have one through our employers and put in the max of $2500 each per year - that I can pass on to my kids when I die doesn't reduce the cost of medical care. At all.

 

[tres borrachos]

Off the top of my head, allowing insurance companies to sell across state lines should allow them to reduce the costs of duplicating functions plus it will increase competition. Also, if people are using cash from HSAs to pay for medical expenses that gives them greater opportunity to negotiate reduced prices, and if it's widespread it should reduce the overhead costs of doctors if they have to process fewer insurance claims.

Yes, but how exactly is that going to lower the costs of medical care and treatments? That's only a part of what should be discussed. With all due respect, I don't believe that medical care costs a lot because the cost of health insurance is high. I believe it's the other way around. What needs to be done first, and I've been arguing exactly this for years, is that we need experts, hundreds & thousands of them, to start going after the root causes of the costs, which are increasing every year.

I also don't know what people paying cash for medical expenses is going to do to lower the cost. First, most Americans have absolutely no chance of saving enough money each year to pay for much beyond basic care. My husband and I make good money, but neither of us make enough to pay for everything for ourselves and our kids. My husband just had a colonoscopy and it was well over $4000. The idea of paying cash for that is out of the question. And even the concept of "cost transparency" and competition is insane. How many people do you think are qualified to perform a colonoscopy in southern NH? How many anesthesiologists are there? How many facilities have state of the art equipment? How many have the nursing staff? I mean, seriously...what exactly would we be "shopping" out? And how would we pay cash for that?

 

[Renae]

But again, how does that lower health care costs? Me building up an account, which, like cpwill, I already have - 2 of them in fact, my husband and I each have one through our employers and put in the max of $2500 each per year - that I can pass on to my kids when I die doesn't reduce the cost of medical care. At all.

Im really not sure what to say here. Health care costs don't go up because of one factor nor will they ease because of one factor. So for me, what this "plan" Seems based on is trying to move healthcare cost away from government which i think as a whole will lower costs. Lower regulation and increased overall market forces.

 

[tres borrachos]

Im really not sure what to say here. Health care costs don't go up because of one factor nor will they ease because of one factor. So for me, what this "plan" Seems based on is trying to move healthcare cost away from government which i think as a whole will lower costs. Lower regulation and increased overall market forces.

I'm not singling you out. I'm just calling Trump's plan exactly what it is....nothing.

 

[ALiberalModerate]

I'd like to see a law passed that made employer provided health insurance illegal. Sounds kind of weird at first, but hear me out... We would still allow employers to pay a person's premiums as a tax deductible expense, but the policy stays with the employee and doesn't disappear when they change jobs. Provides complete portability between jobs, minimizes the impact of being denied coverage for pre-existing conditions just because you changed jobs and gives the individual control over what they want to pay for.

And unfortunately loses all the economic cost benefits of group plans...

 

[ALiberalModerate]

How is anything in there going to reduce healthcare costs? Obama's plan didn't do it. Neither does Trump's plan. "Repeal Obamacare"? Deduct insurance premiums on our taxes? Use HSAs?

The ugly truth is one the main reasons we have such expensive healthcare is we pay our doctors at least twice what they can make anywhere else on earth. I don't know what we could possibly do about that though.

 

[tres borrachos]

The ugly truth is one the main reasons we have such expensive healthcare is we pay our doctors at least twice what they can make anywhere else on earth. I don't know what we could possibly do about that though.

Yup, that's an enormous problem. I would have some suggestions but none of them are a magic bullet, and all of them are pretty difficult to make happen.

Lower the cost of their malpractice insurance. Lower the cost of their education. Lower the cost of the investments they must make in technology. I sound like Trump tossing out these high level platitudes I know.

 

[JasperL]

it is obvious you don't get it. if ND can offer it for 100 then so can NY if they can't then they are ripping people off.
I shouldn't have to live somewhere to get the best price possible. that is not how any other service works in this country neither should insurance.

Who is ripping people off? I just checked and there are 15 or so insurers on the exchange in NYC. Have they all colluded to keep insurance prices high? I'm guessing not, that insurance costs more because care costs more, but that's only because that's the way insurance works, and I'm positive that if insurers noticed that a market as big as NYC/NY state offered the chance for HUUUUUGGE profits selling insurance, every insurer in the country would rush in and get in on that. Same thing with providers.

There is a difference in housing and goods and services. insurance is another service that has 0 competition within state markets.
by introducing competition from outside vendors and out of state pricing insurance companies then have to compete with each other.

Wait, the 15 or so insurers in NY are not competing at all? Interesting theory.

 

[David_N]

How is anything in there going to reduce healthcare costs? Obama's plan didn't do it. Neither does Trump's plan. "Repeal Obamacare"? Deduct insurance premiums on our taxes? Use HSAs?

You know what obama's plan did do?
Slow the growth of helathcare costs. Now we just need single payer.

 

[Greenbeard]

it is obvious you don't get it. if ND can offer it for 100 then so can NY if they can't then they are ripping people off.
I shouldn't have to live somewhere to get the best price possible. that is not how any other service works in this country neither should insurance.

Should be able to offer what for $100? If you're talking about an insurance product that only has North Dakota providers in it (reflecting the underlying cost of care in North Dakota, labor costs in North Dakota, and so on), sure. A company could sell you that and it would cost whatever they pay in North Dakota. If you're talking about an insurance product that pays caregivers in New York so you can get care there, then you're talking about something entirely different. A provider network in New York and a provider network in North Dakota aren't going to cost or charge the same thing, so why would the insurance products reimbursing them cost the same thing?

There is a difference in housing and goods and services. insurance is another service that has 0 competition within state markets.
by introducing competition from outside vendors and out of state pricing insurance companies then have to compete with each other.

You don't seem to be getting this. The parallel between rent and health insurance premiums is that both are contingent upon local cost factors. I can't import Fargo rents into Boston any more than I can import North Dakota premiums. That's because premiums are driven by the underlying cost of care in an area. Insurer competition can have some effect on provider costs (particularly if they're supporting payment models that reward efficiency and allow providers to practice differently), but in general as I recall you don't like how they do that.

Additional competition between insurers (putting downward pressure on their premiums) will push them to 1) cut the highest cost providers out of their networks by developing narrower network products, or 2) negotiate lower reimbursement rates (or load more into deductibles and cost-sharing to expose their customers to provider price differences). That's what competition in the insurance market looks like. I'm pretty sure you hate all of those things.

 

[Fenton]

You know what obama's plan did do?
Slow the growth of helathcare costs. Now we just need single payer.

No we don't need nor can we afford Singlepayer and Obamacare's so bad Democrats had to pretend it disn't exist in the last Midterms.

 

[David_N]

No we don't need nor can we afford Singlepayer and Obamacare's so bad Democrats had to pretend it disn't exist in the last Midterms.

What makes you think we can't afford single payer?

 

[notquiteright]

The ugly truth is one the main reasons we have such expensive healthcare is we pay our doctors at least twice what they can make anywhere else on earth. I don't know what we could possibly do about that though.

Well most industrialized nations help doctors become doctors instead of the dysfunctional system we have. Doctors enter practice saddled with a mountain of debt and work in violation of most labor laws. Far better would be a government grant program that reduces overall student debt as well as regulates the income a PRACTICE demands from beginning doctors. Residency hours on call are limited to sane levels, pay isn't considered a stipend.

There are many doctors who should be doing something else, the system really doesn't protect patients- it protects doctors and hospitals. A system that identifies poorer performing doctors and encouraging them to seek another profession would lower insurance costs for the profession and hospitals.

Same for Big Pharma- Congress bars the government from negotiating drug prices in the country. Canada does this, as the biggest drug market in the free world we should as well.

It is interesting how Trump uses words like Demand, Force, and Make other countries when discussing fixing our economy, but encourage is the word when discussing fixing healthcare.

makes me think The Donald had nothing to do with this 7 point pot luck, wonder if he even read it before it was released... eace

 

[Zyphlin]

Donald Trump has a 7-point healthcare plan | McClatchy DC

Damn you donald, I LIKE that plan, I hate you though, still stayin home.

The issue is there are two aspects of things he's been saying as it relates to healthcare that are not present in his 7 point plan.

He's suggested he wants to somehow keep the requirement of insurance to take people regardless of pre-existing conditions. How does he plan for that to happen? It's not clearly laid out in his 7 point plan.

He's suggested we "won't be having people dying in the streets". Again, how is he suggesting this be done or what does he mean by that? If it's something in his 7 points, he needs to highlight which point and how it relates.

His rhetoric and his policy proposal here doesn't exactly match, so either there's more to it that he's simply not telling people, he's just BSing people on stage, or he somehow thinks those 7 things will somehow address those two issues.