We have maintained the world lead for democracy, social freedom and humanitarian aid. Though very important, these have lead to tremendous financial burdens to our country. The new world order has led to more dependence on United Nations approval and direction. However, this has not led to shared funding by other countries. We need to maintain a world presence and provide for our national security, but the rest of the world needs to be held accountable for proportional financial responsibility.
Protecting our nation is as important as ever. As life continues to become more complex and sophisticated, so do the villains. We need to spend the money to always remain a step ahead of the enemy. We can never afford to mortgage our future on lack of funding and research for national security. A strong defense is always the best offense.
Healthcare is a complex entity as I have seen first hand practicing medicine. Insurance companies continue to build bigger headquarters, hospitals always have cranes outside, and healthcare corporations continue to run big business models. I believe healthcare is a necessity such as food, clothing and shelter. Like those items we all do not eat caviar daily, live in mansions, or just wear designer clothes. We all need a basic level of service. Other basic needs, like utilities, are governed by commissions that set appropriate rates as well as government that subsidizes those that need extra help. Care should be segmented not duplicated. Many services are duplicated within a community to remain competitive in the market. This drives up costs. Services should be specialized to allow for centers of excellence within a community. Everyone can have their fair share of different services and thus avoid duplication and increased costs. Preventive care and healthy lifestyles pay dividends in the future and should be heavily emphasised and rewarded. This can be done by good coverage of those services and premium credits to those living healthy lifestyles. Other impulsive healthcare encounters should carry more out of pocket costs to encourage those utilizing to do so responsibly. Taking ownership of your healthcare dollars is the only way to influence appropriate use of health care services. The entire population can be lumped into a nationwide health care major medical coverage plan. The remainder of insurance coverage can be customized to the consumer's coverage and cost desires with private insurers competing for your coverage. The major medical policy lumps all citizens into the same risk pool to keep costs down. This would protect against catastrophic illness that can devastate a family. Quality measures already in place can be used to help reward quality systems with better payment. Medicaid services could be combined with other government entities such as the VA system, public medical centers, and health departments. This will allow for adequate opportunities to maintain training of future physicians and allow for centralization of government sponsored care. Medicare should still be a benefit that all lucky enough to make it to their "golden years" should participate in. There may have to be some tough choices on what and how much will be covered, but it must be maintained for retired individuals.
