Controlling Health Care Costs. Continued

Controlling Health Care Costs—Continued

First, Retain all Employer Coverage.   Second, use tax credits to purchase from a variety of state sponsored plans that meets your needs and your wallet.  Third, maintain whatever coverage you have, no matter the amount, because you can then avoid any penalty by the Government for lack of insurance.  Fourth, combine Medicaid (able bodied peersons) with the refundable federal tax credit to enroll in a private insurance plan.  Fifth, support medicare reform that offers that offers a variety of plans and costs from competing insurance companies.  Sixth, Use Health Savings Accounts.  These are high deductible plans in which the patient pays for all routine medical care out of pocket but has coverage for major illnesses and operations.

All of these options offer an opportunity to individualize your health care costs and needs.  Patients are becoming more and more sophisticated about medical matters.  I have been lecturing to Lay groups for over 30 years about heart disease and I am amazing at the interest and the never ending questions.  People are very eager for health knowledge and search for physicians with whom they can discuss medical issues.  The Internet is awash in medical information of all kinds from very reliable institutions like the Mayo Clinic.  Physicians need to be prepared for patients who will be asking tough questions about their care.