healthcare

10 Ways: Save On Health Insurance Guaranteed

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Save On Health Insurance Guaranteed

To save on health insurance for your business (no matter how big or small), self-insure! If you work with the Houston Healthcare Initiative, we will guarantee that healthcare costs will not increase. How?

First eliminate managed care and pay cash for routine healthcare. This will dramatically lower administrative costs.

Second, utilize the recommended health maintenance tools described below to decrease the need for and improve access to healthcare. The advantage is a less expensive program and healthier people at work. If healthcare costs exceed the previous yearsyear’s costs, your company we will be reimbursed you. by the Houston Healthcare Initiative.

What Are The Health Maintenance Tools to Save On Healthcare Insurance Guaranteed?

Not just ‘sick care’, the Houston Healthcare Initiative program is an entire, comprehensive package. It includes:

  1. Free Annual Physical exam including physical and mental fitness,
  2. Free telemedicine service,
  3. Free Blood pressure cuff and thermometer,
  4. Free medical care for uncomplicated hypertension and diabetes,
  5. Free second opinions,
  6. Health Savings Account,
  7. Financial and other incentives to lead a healthy lifestyle and comply with medical treatment,
  8. Educate employees on how to shop for medical care and ask questions in the doctor’s office,
  9. Educate employees on the advantages of the Health Savings Account or (HSA).
  10. Share the healthcare savings with employees so that employees are incentivized not to over test or over treat.
    A guarantee to save on health insurance.
    Save On Health Insurance Guaranteed. A guaranteed saving on company health insurance from The Houston Healthcare Initiative.

    Save On Health Insurance Guaranteed brochure for download here: Save On Healthcare Guaranteed

The Houston Healthcare Initiative does not just pay for sickness, it helps make your employees healthier.  The likely benefit to employers is fewer lost workdays, lower insurance costs, and employees who feel their employer cares for them.

Save On Health Insurance Guaranteed Small Business & Health Insurance

Businesses with under 50 employees are not required to provide health insurance to employees. But there are good reasons to consider insuring a small workforce.

For one, health insurance is a critical factor for small businesses to retain and recruit the best employees, sustain productivity and workplace satisfaction. Health insurance benefits are a big deal to employees. The Houston Healthcare Initiative Co-op makes coverage possible.

Health Insurance Is Not Required But Is It Needed?

The answer is yes. A 2020 survey of 2,000 people found that 84% surveyed put health insurance at the top of their most desired benefit list. The Society of Human Resource Management reported that 92% of employees say benefits are important to their overall job satisfaction. 

For start-up companies that want to hire and keep the most talented people, health coverage is a must. There are other paybacks from this investment in a healthier workforce. Healthy employees, who believe the company cares about them, are more devoted, industrious, and approving of businesses of any size. The outcome of benefits like these are a challenge to measure, but they are consequentialconsequential, nonetheless.

Competitive Advantage For Whom, Save On Health Insurance Guaranteed?

Health protection for workers is a competitive advantage. For you and your employees if you offer it but for your competition if not.  Health insurance is less of a cost and more an investment in the future and stability of your company.

 How can companies with less than 50 employees self insure and provide an HSA? Health Savings Accounts

Join with other small businesses to share the risk. Join the Houston Healthcare Initiative co-op.

Offer your employees a $5000 deductible plan with an HSA. Your company self insuresself-insures and takes for example the risk for the next $5000 of claims. The not for profitnot-for-profit cCo-op takes the risk from $10,000 on up. This risk is shared by all the co-op members. Members pay their share to the co-op monthly.

How can companies with more than 50 employee’s self insure and provide an HSA?

 These companies can use the same program as the smaller ones companies or they can assume a risk of $50,000 to $100,000 and purchase reinsurance from a reinsurance company separate from the co-op. Either way, by engaging the Houston Healthcare Initiative, the guarantee of no cost increase from last year will apply.

How does the Houston Healthcare Initiative benefit ( or Wwhat’s the Ccatch)?

 WhenIf companies adopt this program, the we can Houston Healthcare Initiative guarantees that your company’s healthcare costs will not exceed the previous year’s expense.  In return, we ask for 15% of the first years’ savings.

FAQs

  1. 1.Who pays the cost for the healthcare tools?

      The company. It is our contention that these additional costs will be more than offset by the

     savings from decreased utilization of the hospital and ERs.

  1. Not all employees will “buy in” to a healthy lifestyle and are more likely to get sick. Won’t this increase the cost of healthcare?

       Certainly. However, these patients will be paying more for their healthcare to cover the

       additional costs. In most cases, it would not increase the amount the employee currently

       pays. They would not get the reduction that other employees would receive.

3.What about pre-existing conditions?

      Most insurance plans exclude pre-existing conditions. This only arises when one switchinges from one insurance plan to another. We would recommend language in the insurance contract to

avoid fraud.  e.g. Like joining the company for a few months getting an expensive elective procedure done and then quitting. the company. In general, we recommend covering pre-existing conditions.

However, as the company iswith  self insurself-insuranceing, it can decide for itself what is best.  for the company.

4. Some employees will not want the HSA’s. How is this handled?

      If the company has less than 50 employees, they do not have to offer insurance.need to be accommodated. If it the company has more than 50 employees, it can offer to subsidize an individual policy and pay the same amount it contributes for each employee in the self insuredself-insured plan.

What Are The Next Steps to Save On Health Insurance Guaranteed?

 For additional information send email to houhealthcareinitiative@gmail.com.

Save On Health Insurance Guaranteed! Listen Here

Listen to Dr. Goldstein describe several ways to save on healthcare: Healthcare Payment Reform is Critical to Improving Primary Care.

Save On Health Insurance Guaranteed brochure for download here: Save On Healthcare Guaranteed

Save On Health Insurance Guaranteed

Made possible because of ‘Obama Care’… Why Patient Centered Care and a Different Funding Method May be Better for Many Americans

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Made possible because of ‘Obama Care’…

Why Patient Centered Care and a Different Funding Method May be Better for Many Americans

For those who ever tried something that said on the label ‘one size fits all’ there is some shared learning, because one size never fits all. This is true for socks, t-shirts and healthcare.

Yet in spite of this collective experience, we settle for doctors, hospitals and insurance companies who approach patients with templates designed to treat everything and everyone the same or at least very similarly. Instead of an emphasis on individual care, there is more weight placed on administrative efficiency.

Possible

Whether shoes or healthcare, one size will rarely be right for everyone.

Patient Centered

On his regular podcast respected Houston based neurologist and founder of the Houston Healthcare Initiative Dr. Steven Goldstein, describes how a patient centered model and cooperative payment method can work to the benefit of patients and healthcare professionals.

The Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast can be heard on : Apple Podcasts, LibSyn, Spotify, Radio.Com, Listen Notes, iHeart Radio, Podcast Addict, Podbay, Backtracks, Player FM, Stitcher, and SoundCloud.

Funded with Cooperatives

As Dr. Goldstein explained to his listeners, patient centered care as imagined and funded with health cooperatives, places an emphasis on preventive care and healthy lifestyles. When followed these will reduce the number of hospital stays and doctor visits. “I believe that a patient centered healthcare system is possible with a patient owned healthcare cooperative model that is free from the constraints of the CPT codes used for billing and by providing financial incentives to patients to be compliant and lead a healthy lifestyle,” Dr. Goldstein said. “Physicians rather than insurance companies and administrators should be responsible for care and would be compensated based on results and not hours or activities.”

Thank You Obamacare

The Healthcare Cooperative Model is possible because of the Affordable Care Act often known as ‘Obamacare.’ A ‘cooperative’ or ‘co-op’ is a healthcare system that is a non-profit company owned by the members. With as little as 50 members a healthcare cooperative can be formed either within a company or any other group such as a church, a union or any other group that is dissatisfied with the poor service, bureaucratic paperwork and high prices of the current system. Members are responsible for managing the co-op and deciding the type and scope of what they will support or not. Any profits made are paid back to the members. “I believe too that a member or patient owned enterprise is better suited to patient centered care.” Dr. Goldstein declared.

About the Houston Healthcare Initiative

The Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast with Dr. Steven Goldstein is an information vehicle for people who want to know all medical options for themselves and are interested in reforming the healthcare industry. To learn more about the Houston Healthcare Initiative please visit www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org.

 

How Will Healthcare Change for the Better or Worse After Covid 19

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Originally published in Healthcare Facilities Today.

How Will Healthcare Change After Covid 19

Doctors, hospitals, state and federal government agencies along with drug and insurance companies have all made concessions to the public during the time of the Coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic. This emergency affects every American so it stands to reason that what follows will too. But will common sense, red tape cutting, sensible changes that benefit patients remain, or be disposed of like so much medical waste? And what about preparations for future outbreaks? Houston based neurologist Dr. Steven Goldstein of the Houston Healthcare Initiative shares his views on this topic with his podcast audience. The podcast is available on iTunes, Soundcloud, Libsyn, and on www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org.

Telemedicine

While remote access to doctors via Internet based communications is nothing new, it was never widely used until the

telehealth covid
Telemedicine Video Calls To Doctors On Smartphones became more popular during the Covid 19 pandemic. .

outbreak of the Coronavirus/Covid-19 pandemic. But will patients continue to use this convenience? “It depends on what insurance companies will cover as well as what the regulations are from the state board of medical examiners,” Dr. Goldstein told his listeners. “There are plenty of good reasons to maintain this capability. Remote locations, lack of transportation resources and the reality that sick people are not keen to go to a clinic or doctor’s office whether they have the flu, a stomachache or even the Coronavirus should all help persuade the insurance industry to maintain payments for remote appointments.”

Lessons from the Pandemic – Rapid Strike Force

The speed that a viral outbreak is met with can prevent wider infection. Borrowing from an analogy coined by Bill Gates, Dr. Goldstein compared treatment to fighting a war.  “We need a standing army to spring into action when a virus is first found and ready to travel anywhere in the world to go to work,” he said.

Dr. Goldstein envisions teams of doctors, nurses, epidemiologists, virologists, and other medical professionals who can very quickly construct field hospitals on the site of the outbreak, isolate and treat the sick people and find treatments for them. “This would be like a ‘Mobile Army Surgical Hospital’ or MASH unit; fully equipped, staffed and right at the front line. The enemy is disease and must be fought aggressively.”

No Excuses

Goldstein thinks that the federal government must put a greater emphasis on public health and do more to keep people from getting sick. “This is not the first epidemic we’ve faced in recent years just the most recent,” Dr. Goldstein said. He described the many recent health crises the world has faced and faces including HIV/AIDS, Ebola, Zika, MERS and lately the Coronavirus/Covid-19 outbreak. “There will be no excuse for any lack of preparedness when this happens again, and we know it will happen again.”

Top 5 Common Health Myths Debunked

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No myth that water is good for you so drink plenty. Drink plenty of water to stay healthy,

Top 5 Common Health Myths Debunked

We are all seeking ways to improve our health conditions to live longer and better. For this reason, many myths surrounding health matters have risen. Some of these myths have been passed from generation to generation with no scientific backing whatsoever. Today we look at the top 5 common health myths with the view to debunk them.

Consume Eight Glasses of Water Daily

While it is vital to take lots of water daily, there is no scientific backing that says it should be strictly eight glasses. Everybody has varying fluid needs, and as such, you need to consume just enough as per your needs. Many factors will dictate your frequency of water intake. These include the levels of activity, gender, weather, humidity, and body size.

Cracking of Fingers Causes Arthritis

The cracking of fingers is a habit by most people, if not all. This habit does not correlate whatsoever with arthritis,

No myth that water is good for you so drink plenty.
No myth that water is good for you so drink plenty. Drink plenty of water to stay healthy,

according to scientific studies. Arthritis

Comes about when joint cartilages break and the bones to rub together.

Going Out in Cold Weather Brings about Cold

It is a common phrase from mother’s warning the children not to go out in the cold weather or with wet apparels with the fear of catching a cold. Colds originate from viruses. Despite the weather condition, viruses will always spread.

Sugar Causes Hyperactivity in Children

You will hear from parents that when their children take sugar, their behavior changes and they become hyperactive. The truth is a hyperactive kid will always remain to be hyperactive with or without sugar. Science has shown that sugar never encourages hyperactive reactions in children. It is just a myth that people have.

Natural Foodstuffs Are the Best

A lot of natural things are indeed healthy, but not all of them. Some foods with organic ingredients contain empty calories, saturated fat, and sugar. Describing something as natural does not always mean it’s a healthy choice.

Now you know the truth. Do not be entangled with the above myths anymore. Contact us for more great information about healthcare.

Good? Joe Biden wants Medicare to start at 60

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Joe Biden wants Medicare to start at 60

Medicare Availability May Not Be Affordable

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumed Democratic candidate for president, has eschewed some of the more grandiose schemes of some of his rivals, such as Medicare for All, which would replace the patchwork of private insurance and various government-provided plans with a single-payer system. Instead, Biden prefers to expand on existing healthcare programs to attempt to extend insurance to people who currently lack it.

One such Biden proposal is the idea of lowering the age of eligibility for Medicare to 60. According to a recent article in Forbes, the scheme may be attractive to seniors, especially in the age of the coronavirus when many people have lost their jobs and hence employer-provided health insurance.

When Paying for Medicare?
Medicare for people at age 60 may not be affordable in the long term.

The proposal is an improvement over plans offered under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, which has proven to be unaffordable for many middle-income families because they do not qualify for subsidies. Biden would also keep the privately offered Medicare advantage plans that many seniors use to supplement their regular Medicare

The proposal would work by allowing seniors between 60 and 65 who are unemployed or whose job does not offer health insurance to “buy into” the existing Medicare system. The cost of this buy-in is uncertain; however, one analysis suggests that access to Medicare would be more attractive financially than other options, such as plans under the ACA.  Seniors who do not have access to private insurance or who are still too young to be part of the existing Medicare system would have more options.

Of course, some questions remain about the Biden proposal. An analysis by Avalere suggests that 23 million more Americans would be eligible for Medicare under the scheme. Would the Medicare system be able to bear the extra cost? Will the proposal start to undercut private plans for seniors between 60 and 64, causing employers to dump the cost of health insurance onto the government? Would the temptation arise to lower the age of eligibility further, in effect creating a Medicare for All system, with all of its problems, by the back door? These and other questions will doubtlessly be argued about as the campaign cycle goes forward and beyond, should Biden win the presidency.

Rescue The American Healthcare System In Six Steps

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Rescue The American Healthcare System In Six Steps

According to respected neurologist Dr. Steven Goldstein

Dr. Steven Goldstein of the Houston Healthcare Initiative believes that the U.S. healthcare system can be rescued, and that American business can play an instrumental role. He describes the steps to salvage the industry on the Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast.

The Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast can be heard on: Apple Podcasts, Audible, Audacy, iHeart, Listen Notes, Podcast Addict, Podbay, Podnews,  Stitcher, Soundcloud, and Player FM.

What Needs Rescuing

Rescue Healthcare
Dr. Steven Goldstein describes six steps business can take to reduce costs and maintain employee health.

The current American healthcare system is a mis-mash of government regulations, insurance company and medical industry policies designed to separate the public from its money and provide a minimum of care. The current system does not embrace new treatments or scientific breakthroughs. Insurance companies question the judgement of doctors with double approvals of prescriptions and treatments called ‘pre-authorization.’

Government at the state and federal level demonize off label treatments along with those who advocate them and instead peddle more expensive vaccines and treatments.  It’s a mess.

How to Fix Healthcare

There are practical steps a company of any size can take to transition from the current healthcare system to this new cost-effective solution.

  1. Self-Insurance

In addition to an estimated 20-30% savings compared to regular insurance self-insurance allows a company to adopt new technologies, financial and other incentives to deliver higher quality care at lower cost.

  1. Health Savings Accounts (HSA)

As a practical matter this shifts the costs of routine healthcare to the employee. It allows the employee to pay cash using pretax dollars. Cash prices for tests and procedures are already dramatically lower than insurance company discounts. By paying cash, the administrative costs of processing claims drop dramatically. The employee simply saves receipts and makes a claim only when the receipts add up to the deductible. Additionally, the unused HSA money accrues interest that can also serve as a retirement account for employees.

  1. Establish an Employee Welfare Trust (EWT).

The purpose of the trust is to reduce the cost of reinsurance in later years and to eventually convert the insurance plan from a one-year contract to insurance to age 65. Thus, employees will be able to continue in the plan even if they no longer work for the company if they continue to contribute to the EWT.

  1. Educate employees about what is possible for them. These options include:
    • How to choose a primary physician based on the personal needs of that person,
    • How to shop for medical care and medication,
    • The importance of mental health and the relationship between mental health and the effect on physical health and the immune system,
    • The importance of physical exercise,
    • The importance of financial health and its effect on mental health.
  1. Technologies that can be implemented immediately.

Technology can provide free access to a physician 24/7 for diagnosis, and second opinions. Remote appointments reduce trips to the ER or urgent care. Additionally equip each employee with a thermometer and blood pressure cuff to provide information to the physician. Encourage patients to maintain their own medical records; educate patients on how to do this. Business can also fund fitness apps, gym equipment at the jobsite or gym memberships.

  1. Employ incentives to employees to live a healthy lifestyle. These can be financial incentives or other rewards like increased company contributions to the HSA, lower insurance premiums etc.

In Summary

According to Dr. Goldstein, the means to take control of the healthcare system away from government, big hospital companies, and the insurance industry and create a patient centered system is within our collective grasp. “We just need to do it,” he told his audience. “There are enough remedies in current law available to employers and employees alike to make a major change in the way we all get and pay for medical care.”

If nothing is done to rescue the healthcare business, the public can expect higher costs for insurance with higher deductibles and less coverage. Add to that more regulations and fewer treatments. More government interference with science and medicine and less freedom for our doctors who know us best to treat their patients.

About the Houston Healthcare Initiative

The Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast with Dr. Steven Goldstein is an information vehicle for people who want to know all medical options for themselves and are interested in reforming the healthcare industry. To learn more about the Houston Healthcare Initiative please visit www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org.

To Deliver Preventive Care Enhancing Population Health After Covid-19

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While not about health, Franklin was first to say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

What were the additional medical setbacks the American public suffered during the Covid-19 Pandemic…..

To Deliver Preventive Care Enhancing Population Health After Covid-19

On the Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast, Dr. Steven Goldstein said that it was possible to reverse the preventative care reversals suffered during the Covid-19 pandemic.  Everyone can stay healthier, and possibly live longer by re-committing to prevention as part of our collective health regimen.

The Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast can be heard on: Apple Podcasts, Audible, Audacy, iHeart, Listen Notes, Podcast Addict, Podbay, Podnews,  Stitcher, Soundcloud, and Player FM.

Pandemic Pull Back

prevention
Routine health medical tests and exams designed to prevent illness fell during the Covid-19 pandemic. Dr. Steven Goldstein expects the number of tests to return to pre-pandemic levels.

How much did Americans miss when it came to preventative or elective care during the pandemic? Quite a bit according to Dr. Goldstein. “The drop off was precipitous and happened in a very short period during the spring of 2020,” he told his listeners. “Vaccinations dropped by 60% in April 2020. In the same period practically, no one got a colonoscopy with an 88% decline for those.”

What Will Happen Now?

Dr. Goldstein said to expect preventive care use to return to its pre-pandemic rates. “But the gaps created over the last year have critical implications for patients’ long-term health and could potentially lead to poorer outcomes over time,” he stated.

The Full Impact of Covid-19

The full effect of the pandemic on the American public is not known yet. But hospitals and health systems are aware of trends caused by delayed health screenings and the worsening of some chronic conditions.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a decrease in preventive screenings because some patients were hesitant to see their health care provider. That was understandable. “But with more and more places opening, it’s important to get back to the preventative tests, screening and medication that helped you and everyone stay healthy and manage those chronic conditions,” Dr. Goldstein concluded. “Preventive care helps everyone stay healthy.”

The Norm of Preventative Care

Preventative care is and has always been considered best practice for all physicians and their patients.  Finding something and treating it early generally means a better outcome for patients including less expensive treatments. Screenings are important to avoid future health problems or catch them early when they are easier to treat.

Preventive care measures things like cholesterol, body mass, along with breast cancer screenings, prostate cancer screening and some general health counseling. Screening and test diagnosis helps doctors find abnormalities sooner than later. Cancer is the example most know about.  But the same caution with respect to blood pressure, arterial blockages in the heart and other organs are just as important.

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” This saying is reflected in proposed health reform plans and the efforts to increase investments in prevention throughout the U.S. healthcare delivery system. With evidence that nearly 40 percent of all deaths in the United States are due to behavioral causes, attention to prevention has encompassed obesity and tobacco smoking prevention in addition to vaccinations and cancer screening.

Chronic diseases are the leading cause of death and disability worldwide and are linked to increasing health costs. Preventative care is advocated as part of a population health approach and includes both clinical preventative services and screening tests.

Identifying and preventing potential problems downstream is one strategy for controlling utilization and improving health outcomes.Most health plans must cover a set of preventive services — like shots and screening tests — at no cost to you. This includes plans available through the Health Insurance Marketplace®.

About the Houston Healthcare Initiative

The Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast with Dr. Steven Goldstein is an information vehicle for people who want to know all medical options for themselves and are interested in reforming the healthcare industry. To learn more about the Houston Healthcare Initiative please visit www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org.

 

Criticism of Doctor Prescribed Treatments Could Put Patients At Risk

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Off Label Prescription

Criticism of Doctor Prescribed Medicine Is A Bad Idea

Off Label Prescription
Off Label Prescriptions. Doctors have the right to prescribe medication for conditions other than the one approved.

Physician prescribed Ivermectin to help treat Covid-19 may not be the biggest challenge facing doctors today. The bigger problem is likely the deliberate interference with a doctor’s ability to prescribe and treat patients as they believe is best. This is the subject of the latest edition of the Houston Healthcare Initiative Podcast which can be heard on : Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Podbean, Soundcloud, and the Houston Healthcare Initiative website. The virulent criticism and mischaracterization of doctor prescribed Ivermectin as a possible treatment for Covid-19 is one sign that medicine can be and is politicized.

Off Label Prescriptions

This repercussions and longer-term consequences of political interference with doctors and their patients includes the freedom to prescribe ‘off-label.’  Off-label prescriptions occur when a physician gives a drug that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved to treat a condition other than the one diagnosed. The pressure on Ivermectin and last year’s with Hydroxychloroquine, were both more affordable remedies than other top dollar treatments or even vaccines.

Why The Controversy? Politics

The government under both Republican and Democratic administrations tried to dictate what treatment should be used to treat Covid infections. “The now vice president of the United States declared during the debates in 2020 that she would not take a vaccine based on who the president was and what he recommended,” Dr. Goldstein said. “Any medical recommendation from anyone other than a doctor familiar with a patient’s history is not credible.”

Off Label Successes

There are many examples from the history of medicine where an individual physician working alone has made a major breakthrough with what was at the time thought unconventional. “Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis saved the lives of numerous mothers by suggesting OB doctors wash their hands before delivering a baby,” Dr. Goldstein said. “He was ridiculed by the medical establishment at the time as the germ theory of infections was not yet discovered.”

More recently two Australian doctors, Barry J. Marshall and Robin Warren, found that stomach ulcers were caused by bacteria. “They also were ridiculed by the medical establishment until they won the Nobel Prize,” Dr. Goldstein told his listeners.

Stop Politicizing Medicine

Dr. Goldstein’s conclusion from this latest flap regarding off-label prescriptions, “allow physicians to pursue different treatments for Covid. Stop politicizing the treatments and stop publishing premature articles in the press for or against any unproven treatment.”

About The Houston Healthcare Initiative

The Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast with Dr. Steven Goldstein is an information vehicle for people who want to know all medical options for themselves and are interested in reforming the healthcare industry. To learn more about the Houston Healthcare Initiative please visit www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org.

3 Goals: Healthcare Changes to the American Families Plan Could Create Affordable Healthcare

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Hand writing What You Need To Know with marker, business concept background

3 Goals: Healthcare Changes to the American Families Plan & Health Savings Plans Could Make Medical Expenses More Affordable.

The new administration, like all of them, has plans for Americans and their healthcare. On this edition of the podcast Dr. Steven Goldstein, who founded the Houston Healthcare Initiative, will get us all better acquainted with what those proposals are and explore other possible ways for how healthcare can be fixed. The Biden administration has three goals.

3 Healthcare Changes are Goals for the Biden Administration.
There are three healthcare priorities for the Biden administration plus one more that Dr. Steven Goldstein suggests.

To listen to the podcast, click this link: https://soundcloud.com/harold-nicoll/three-biden-administration-healthcare-goals-plus-one-not-included. 

The Covid 19 Response

Of the three goals, first is the Covid-19 pandemic response. Part of the goal is to prevent over capacity of limited hospital beds and critical care space during spikes in the virus outbreak, like those occurring now. Others include the ability to establish temporary hospitals and better ways to track Covid surges via technology. Making telehealth options more widely available, tasking all relevant federal agencies to set up temporary hospitals and getting the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to develop real-time tracking dashboards to better predict when surges will happen, where they are and other details needed to better inform healthcare professionals about the evolution of the pandemic.

The Affordable Care Act

The second of the three priorities has to do with the Affordable Care Act, or as it is more popularly known, ObamaCare.

The idea is to reduce medical costs for the American public. As part of a separate pandemic relief bill, there is $34 billion to help Americans who buy insurance from the health plan marketplaces that were created by Obama Care now through 2022.  Those who know about it state that this would help lower and middle-income Americans who have fallen through the cracks of the government’s eligibility requirements for ObamaCare subsidies. It would also help people who choose policies with lower premiums and higher deductibles. There is also assistance for the unemployed.

Medicare Reform

One of the more visible proposals is to increase the age of people who are eligible for Medicare from the current 65 to 60 years of age.

“While we can think of these as beneficial to society, there is a considerable cost that comes along with it,” Dr. Goldstein told his listeners. “Instead of transferring more money to people, there are other ways to use existing healthcare payment strategies that will benefit everyone.” So why not fund Health Savings Accounts (HSA’s) with this same amount of money?  It is tax-advantaged when received, if the money earns interest while in the health savings account the account owner can keep it and be prepared to pay cash for more health-related expenses. So what is a health savings plan?

Prescription Drugs

The Trump Administration launched a “Transparency in Coverage” ruling in December of 2020 that required health insurers to disclose current drug prices and provide patients with personalized cost estimates. The Biden Administration hopes to increase these efforts by repealing existing laws that prevent Medicare from negotiating lower prices with drug corporations. “Plenty of people believe that the government already uses its mass buying power with Medicare to negotiate better rates,” Dr. Goldstein said. “That is not the case.”

Health Savings Accounts

The Health Savings Account. or HSA, is a type of savings account that is used for medical expenses. HSA’s were established for those with high deductible health insurance coverage. HSAs and high-deductible health plans were created to help control health care costs. The idea is that people will spend their health care dollars more wisely if they’re using their own money. The money deposited by individuals into their HSA account is not taxed.

Further, HSAs feature a triple-tax benefit: money you contribute to your HSA can be written off on your taxes and thus reduce your income tax bill; money in your HSA grows and compounds assuming investments rise. All is tax-free over time; and when HSA money is withdrawn for qualified medical expenses, no tax is paid on the withdrawal. It is owned by the individual so that he or she can pay their healthcare costs. These include everything from doctor visits to blood tests, paid for with cash from the health savings accounts.

As always, information about this and more than 50 other podcasts can be heard and read about at the website, www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org.

About The Houston Healthcare Initiative

The Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast with Dr. Steven Goldstein is an information vehicle for people who want to know all medical options for themselves and are interested in reforming the healthcare industry. To learn more about the Houston Healthcare Initiative please visit www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org.