The Cure that Works: Dr. Sean Flynn Reflection
Introduction
The United States spends more per capita on healthcare than anywhere else in the world. We are also the only country that has a third-party payment system for healthcare. The US could be making changes to the healthcare system that would cut costs not only for the government but also for the people. Singapore is a primary example. Singapore has a fully decentralized healthcare system. Additionally, Singapore has a much lower infant and maternal mortality rate than the United States. They have three systems in place for their healthcare system. Medi Save, Medi Shield, and Medi Fund.
Triple M Approach in Singapore
The systems put in place for health care in Singapore are called Medi Save, Medi Shield, and Medi Fund. Medi Save is a plan that issues 25 percent of income goes into a retirement account. The money in that retirement account is also used for healthcare expenses, seeing as health worsens with age. Medi Shield is a high deductible insurance plan that covers costs in case of a serious illness. Medi Fund is a safety net for lower income people that cannot afford their healthcare costs. If you cannot afford healthcare costs, you fill out a form and send it to the government. They will then approve the document and you will have the cost paid by the government. Overall, this system seems efficient. It covers all possible scenarios and problems one could face when navigating healthcare costs.
Whole Foods Approach
Whole Foods adopts an unorthodox approach to providing health care to its employees. The company provides its employees with a high deductible healthcare plan, but gifts the employee the same amount they would have to pay out of pocket. The money that the employee does not spend on healthcare from the amount given is kept for the employee. This plan saves both the company and the employees money on healthcare. This system is remarkable to me. This system not only makes it to where people are incentivized to shop around for the cheapest health services, but I think it can also incentivize people to be safer.
Benefits and Incentives
I think the system that Whole Foods Market and the Healthy Indiana Plan uses could be beneficial in the US. We could reduce government spending on healthcare by using this system, to which funds could be used somewhere else, for example, the education system. It would also save the consumer money and encourage smart spending when it came to healthcare. It could also incentivize people to be safer. Most of the time, children get injured because of some sort of accident where they were not being safe. This is a hassle for the parents because they would have to use some of the money they have to cover the costs of healthcare. Another way this system would improve the overall wellness of the country is by creating competition between the medical providers. Each medical provider would be in competition within the market. They would then be incentivized to create better quality service to their patients. They would also have to lower prices since people are encouraged to think about the prices of the services they are buying.
Healthy Indiana Program
The state of Indiana has actually implemented a system similar to this. It is called the Healthy Indiana Program. It is similar to the healthcare plan given to Whole Foods employees. The Healthy Indiana Program is for low income individuals. If you qualify, you are given a high deductible insurance plan, and paid the same amount. The money not used for health services can be kept by the individual. This gives the same incentive to shop for the cheapest prices when it comes to healthcare services. This again saves both the government and the individuals money on healthcare costs.
Conclusion
I think this system is amazing. I always knew that healthcare was something that was a multi-billion dollar industry that usually overpriced services to an extreme. I never would have thought of this kind of system that would provide such benefits to both the government and the people. By decentralizing the medical system and taking similar tactics that Singapore, Whole Foods, and Healthy Indiana Program, the United States could see many improvements. Given the improvements that were shown in Singapore, I think it should be implemented into the United States too. Not only would you see the quality of medical services increase, but you would see healthcare become more accessible for everyone. I think it would also reduce healthcare discrimination which would be bad for business. Overall, it is a system that the United States should implement immediately.