Anyone paying attention to the state of the American healthcare system knows that it is in dire need of improvement. Yet, Congress has failed on numerous occasions to enact policies that would make the system more effective while lowering costs for Americans.
In this episode, I discuss a piece of legislation that could move us further in the right direction by giving people more control over their healthcare decisions rather than allowing insurance companies and the government to dictate how and where people can get the care they need.
In the episode, I delve into the intricacies of healthcare policy. The focus is the ACCESS Act (HR 5608), which aims to ease dependency on insurance companies and the state for healthcare.
The legislation replaces the cost-sharing model with one that provides Healthcare Savings Accounts (HSA) by amending section 223 of the Affordable Care Act. Through this program, people would be able to opt into a program that gives contributions to an HSA. These funds would provide more flexible healthcare options by allowing recipients to explore a wider variety of healthcare services without having to rely on approval from insurance companies.
It is not a perfect solution as it still involves the government. But allowing people more control over how they get their healthcare could be a significant step toward a system that is more free-market based. Similar to how school choice legislation is helping parents have more control over where and how their children are educated, the ACCESS Act could provide similar benefits for Americans – especially those who are in the lower income brackets.
Could the ACCESS Act be a step in the right direction? Let me know what you think.
