Singapore & Mandatory Savings
August 27, 2009 Comments Off
DeLong Care
— 1. Taxes on public health hazards (booze, sweeteners, etc.)
— 2. An army of publicly employed doctors and nurses working in clinics and vans and such roaming the country dispensing preventive care and lifestyle advice to all and sundry.
— 3. 15 percent of your income is automatically plunked into a Health Savings Account.
— 4. When you want health care services that aren’t covered by the clinics, you pay out of your HSA.
— 5. If there’s money left in your HSA at the end of the year, it gets plunked into your IRA unless you specifically fill in an opt-out form.
— 6. If you run out of money in your HSA and need more health care, the government pays for it.
— 7. On top of the 15 percent HSA deduction, there’s a 5 percent tax to pay for 6.
I actually think this is a pretty good idea. I’ve mentioned before I think flat-out single payer might actually be more efficient than the mess we have now, but adding health savings accounts (and thus direct, personal involvement) into the mix is a really good idea at containing costs. Personal choice also helps avoid some of the problems I’ve bemoaned in regards to monopolization. I may have not made this clear enough, but I really do think monopoly (not “government”) is at the heart of many economic and social problems.
Consumers responsible for their own health care purchases makes a lot of sense because they have incentive to exercise restraint and because they have options on where that money is spent. Having insurance (whether single payer or otherwise) for costs above and beyond what goes in their savings account also makes sense. [Read more →]
August 21, 2009 14 Comments
