Hope For Healthcare

Are you frustrated with the current state of healthcare in the United States? Are you questioning whether you will be able to afford healthcare for yourself and your family in the years to come? Do you feel that our current system is broken, or soon to be in shambles? Is there a better way to ensure healthcare to those that desire it, without paying outrageous fees, or heavily fining those who choose not to participate?

My name is Sheila Butler, and I am actively in pursuit of introducing a new idea which could potentially be the solution to the healthcare problems of our nation. My plan to improve our nation’s healthcare has evolved from the very beginning form of a mere thought, to the foundation and detailed plan with which we could give the American people the ability to not only afford healthcare once again, but also the liberty of more choice with less government involvement. The following data is based off of medium to large sized companies. I encourage you to study the content, raise questions, and petition our politicians to consider the impact that this theory could have for the betterment of our current healthcare system.

The issues with our current state of healthcare lie first and foremost with the lack of affordability. With our current system, insurance companies carry the burden of unknown catastrophic risk. Because of the various risks assigned to individuals, insurance companies are forced to charge appalling amounts in order to cover the risk entailed with their clients and potential medical catastrophes. As stated in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), healthcare providers are now prohibited from underwriting individuals on the basis of health and wellbeing. Each individual must now be charged the same vast fee for catastrophic risk, no matter the health of the individual. As stated by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), before the Affordable Care Act was put in place in 2010, 44 million Americans were uninsured. According to the Wall Street Journal, even after the introduction of President Obama’s healthcare plan (Affordable Care Act – “Obamacare”), 33 million Americans remain uninsured to this day. Through my personal observations and experience in the industry of providing health insurance, insurance agents and insurance carriers commonly discover, during claims reviews, that 80% of the group’s claims exposure is utilized by only 20% of its members. I believe the percentages relay a major imbalance in our current system. But how is it that the brokenness of our system has yet to be acknowledged? How is it that a positive change in our healthcare system has yet to be enacted? Could we offer a policy that provides coverage for catastrophic risk only?

I have pondered the many problems within our current system, and I have spent many laborious hours in deriving and promoting a plan with which I feel our nation could overcome the issues at hand. I have confidence that changing the way with which large claims are covered could put our nation on the route to a better way of providing health coverage. In my plan, small claims would remain as they are; with the insurance provider of your choice. Large claims would be covered through a national pool of risk. This national pool would be funded by every working American, monthly, through collection by the IRS via employers. The risk collection would essentially be in the form of a tax. The administrators of the national pool of risk would be appointed by the government, and would be run by several insurance carriers acting as non-profit organizations. For example, if $40 were collected from each working individual per month ($10 per week), the national pool of risk could acquire funds of $12,000,000,000 per month (assuming 300 million Americans). The risk pool would have the financial ability to fund the coverage necessary for claims made by Americans in excess of $40,000 a year. As a result of allowing for catastrophic risk funds to be managed separately from insurance providers, the cost of insurance could be drastically reduced. It is my theory that this plan would allow for Americans to afford health coverage once again, and reconsider the penalty currently imposed.

As with any introduction of a new plan, questions always arise. Some individuals may wonder why they should contribute funds to a cause that they may never directly benefit from. In my experience, we all share one thing in common. Each of us will, at one time or another, need healthcare. This should be viewed as an investment. Your premiums would have the potential to be much lower (reducing your overall cost), and if you were to find yourself in the unfortunate situation of needing to rely on the catastrophic risk pool, it would be available for the medical finances you would need to cover the costs incurred. Which brings us to the question of how your private coverage could potentially be reduced. With this proposal, your costs would be reduced based on the fact that insurance carriers would no longer carry the burden of catastrophic claims. Therefore, insurance providers would no longer be forced to charge outrageous fees in order to cover unknown medical catastrophes.

I am looking to inspire the American population to ultimately make a difference for the better in our world of healthcare. At the end of the day, I do not want to feel anxious about the deteriorating state of our healthcare system. I want to rest assured that my children and grandchildren will not have to worry about whether or not they will be able to afford health insurance, or if they will be subjected to immense debt due to an unfortunate medical catastrophe. In sharing my proposed plan for healthcare, my desire is not to promote myself as an individual with “the solution.” I am not seeking success or fame. I am seeking to reintroduce the idea of life with freedom, choices, and affordability once again in our healthcare system. My desire is that I will spark the interest of the American population. It is my hope that I will also spark the interest of local, state, and potentially even federal government officials. My ultimate goal is for my theory to become more than just a theory. With your help, this theory could become a plan – a hope for healthcare.

If you would like more information on my proposed plan or to request a presentation, you may contact me via e-mail at [email protected]. Also, feel free to contribute your questions, concerns, or comments below.

I hope you are inspired by Hope for Healthcare.

Sheila J. Butler, President
Sheila J. Butler & Company, Inc.