Abstract

KIE: To expand health care to all Americans, the organization Physicians Who Care favors a reshaping of current U.S. health care financing structures in preference to a national health care program like Canada's. The proposal comes in five parts. First, Bronow, et al. suggest mandatory employer-provided basic coverage with high deductibles. Second, for people of limited means, high deductibles can be substituted by individual medical savings accounts, established with pretax dollars. Third, instead of being funded entirely through taxes each year, Medicare could be funded partly through medical IRAs, required for every American from his or her first year of life. Fourth, long-term care should be taken out of Medicaid, and eligibility requirements should be changed. Finally, instead of allowing insurance companies to set health benefits, scientific guidelines should be established for medical care. Bronow, et al. also recommend that patients be made fully aware of any financial incentives for physicians.