Healthcare Reform to Make America Great Again
Donald J. Trump for President
As it appears Obamacare is certain to collapse of its own weight, the damage done by the Democrats and President Obama, and abetted by the Supreme Court, will be difficult to repair unless the next President and a Republican congress lead the effort to bring much-needed free market reforms to the healthcare industry.
By following free market principles and working together to create sound public policy that will broaden healthcare access, make healthcare more affordable and improve the quality of the care available to all Americans.
Congress must act. Our elected representatives in the House and Senate must:
1. Completely repeal Obamacare.
2. Modify existing law that inhibits the sale of health insurance across state lines.
3. Allow individuals to fully deduct health insurance premium payments from their tax returns under the current tax system.
4. Allow individuals to use Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).
5. Require price transparency from all healthcare providers, especially doctors and healthcare organizations like clinics and hospitals.
6. Block-grant Medicaid to the states.
7. Remove barriers to entry into free markets for drug providers that offer safe, reliable and cheaper products.
The reforms outlined above will lower healthcare costs for all Americans. They are simply a place to start. There are other reforms that might be considered if they serve to lower costs, remove uncertainty and provide financial security for all Americans.
https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/healthcare-reform
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Comment:
By Don McCanne, M.D.
As the leading candidate for the Republican nomination for president, we should be aware of Donald Trump’s health policy proposals. His descriptions to date have been vague — replace Obamacare with something terrific, remove the lines around states, and can’t let people die in the streets. Responding to demands for specifics, Trump plays it safe and now releases a brief list of standard recommendations long held by mainstream Republican politicians.
Most of these proposals have been extensively analyzed and would have very little impact on resolving the problems with our health care financing. But repealing Obamacare and using block-grants to reduce Medicaid funding would further impair access to care for millions of Americans. Doesn’t really sound like something terrific.
Trump has said that single payer systems work well in other nations, but his political base is not supportive of such a system here, and so it does not appear on his list of proposed reforms. Once again, politics trumps policy.
Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) is a nonpartisan educational organization. It neither supports nor opposes any candidates for public office.