re: What’s a real conservative solution to fix healthcare?

It needs to have prices posted on a menu board in the waiting room for non-hospital providers. This would be PC, vision, dentists, imaging centers.

[pulling numbers out of my arse, using vet med numbers]

Appointment: $90
Walk-in: $120
Blood Panel Level 1 - $38
Blood Panel Level 2 - $48
X-ray: 100
MRI: $400
[other routine services specific to that provider]
Etc:
Out of Pocket Discount We provide you pay, no 3rd parties for us to deal with but feel free to keep your receipts and try to get reimbursed from your ins or gov or whatever (you'd have to call it something else) 20%

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100% of all premium income must go towards your health. No more middle men or profit.

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Lets do this for individuals too. You must spend all of your money for food, water, housing. Nothing else.

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We all can agree the ACA was a mess. Now how to fix it? Many say trust the free market but after the ACA the free market will choose to keep the same system due to massive benefits. What is an actual proposal to make healthcare more affordable and bring down massive co pays

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ACA didn’t really accomplish much, besides getting some more people coverage. But the costs and the issues with insurance denials are still a huge problem.

Just as it was a mess before ACA. These private companies simply do not care. They view paying doctors’ bills as hurting their bottom line. They deny covering costs using algorithms to overrule doctor’s decisions.

The first thing is to break down what exactly is causing costs to be so much higher. The second option is to sue these insurance companies for denying to cover their costs - essentially robbing their customers.

I don’t know how else to solve it, but I know that the insurance companies aren’t solving it, and all their incentives are to not solve it. And they are paying politicians not to solve it either.

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BUT, losing employment should not mean losing health insurance.

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It doesn't. You can stay on your plan for what... 18 months via COBRA.

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The individual should be eligible to piggyback the same plan at the same cost the old employer provides/pays, until he's newly employed again.

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You can do exactly this. You do, however, have to pay 100% of the premium.

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I don't agree.

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Why?

The current model excludes the vast majority of part-time employees from insurance eligibility.

This is what I believe needs to happen as well.

Everyone carries a “basic” catastrophic health care plan. If you wish to add things like drug/alcohol rehab, pre/postnatal care, etc, that’s an extra cost to your premium.

One other thing I’d add is that health insurance becomes portable across state lines and goes with you if you change employers. States mandating different coverages is a huge part of the problem IMO.

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That is false, of course

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Quite obviously you didn't read my preceding statement where I specifically said "For 18 months".

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You're referring to COBRA which is questionably equally valuated

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How is it "questionably equally valued"? IT'S THE SAME POLICY. You are simply paying for the entire thing, rather than your former employer paying...

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What is the 18-mo justification for policy termination, even assuming cost is appropriately derived?

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If, after a year and a half, you haven't been able to find a new job, healthcare insurance is the least of your worries, my friend.

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The current model excludes the vast majority of part-time employees from insurance eligibility.

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And?

Are these "vast majority of part-time employees" incapable of creating a healthcare.gov account and choosing the least expensive bronze or silver plan, which likely would be fully subsidized since they are part time? This, of course, is assuming we are operating under the current system in place.

Which, like it or not, and I HATE it, isn't likely to go anywhere anytime soon. We've gone too far down that rabbit hole to be able to do away with it, sort of like Social Security.

What they CAN, and SHOULD do, is allow individuals to form groups, much like employers do, and purchase plans as a group, spreading the risk. Also, bring back rating. If you are a big momma whomp whomp riding around in her scooter at the Wal Marks, you SHOULD have to pay more for your health insurance than a quite fit, in-perfect-health person of the same age. That fit person shouldn't subsidized your fat arse. And waiting periods for pre-existing conditions for say ... 6 months. Allow insurance to be sold across state lines. Transparent, up front pricing where the charge itself is the same no matter who is paying for it. Much like car insurance.... if you go to ANY doctor with ANY insurance, it should cost the same for any procedure, test or whatever. Not... well, we charge X for self pay, Y for BCBS and Z for Humana. Take THAT power away from the insurance companies and make them nothing more than a payer.

Yeah, some of that is very wishful thinking.

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Health insurance should not be tied to employment.

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I don't agree.

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My homeowner's insurance isn't tied to my employment.

My renter's insurance wasn't tied to my employment.

My auto insurance isn't tied to my employment.

My boat insurance isn't tied to my employment.

My life insurance isn't tied to my employment.

My pet insurance isn't tied to my employment.

Why is it only health insurance that is tied to employment? And why is it necessary for employers to "provide" it?