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The fifth choice presented in this Upshot piece is whether there should be some form of cost sharing in a universal health care system. The argument against co
by jawns 8y ago
The fifth choice presented in this Upshot piece is whether there should be some form of cost sharing in a universal health care system.
The argument against cost sharing is that it penalizes the poor, who are likely to put off treatment if they can't afford it.
The argument in favor of cost sharing is that it helps prevent people from taking advantage of the system.
I wonder if it might be possible to strike a balance using graduated (rather than fixed) cost sharing based on income.
So, let's say the cost sharing for a monthly prescription is normally $30.
But someone with an AGI below $50K might pay $20, and someone with an AGI below $30K might pay $10, and someone with an AGI below $10K might pay $5.
You would always have to pay something (because, as NYU's Glied points out, "the biggest effects are moving from zero to something"). But that something would be proportionate to your means.
- basch 8y ago>a monthly prescription Fund drug research through public-private hybrids and grants, instead of intellectual property monopolies for the first x years of the drug. You can then spread the cost of developing the drug over a generation or two, instead of making the first people to be treated foot the entire bill. The public will own the intellectual property, the government can decide what diseases to fund/fight, and private companies still have incentive to perform research. All the while, private research can still compete for other treatments, or rare diseases with funding.
- zeroonetwothree 8y agoThe could be good in theory but it seems like a nightmare to implement. At the time you pay you don't actually know your income for the year so how would it work exactly? You guess and then get it adjusted at tax time (would everyone then just put $0?)
- occamrazor 8y agoTwo possible solutions relatively easy to implement: 1. Use previous year income. 2. Everybody pays the maximum copay and then gets some money back with their taxes.
- nybble41 8y agoYou could just use average income over the previous 3-5 years rather than the current tax year income. The IRS already has that data on file.