My modest proposal regarding health care reform

[JonQ]

I've been toying with the idea of how do we improve health care in such a way as to cover everyone without completely overhauling the system and these were my thoughts:

1) detach health insurance from employers. As is you don't get a lot of freedom in choosing your coverage and should you lose your job you are out of luck. Make it completely independent, like automotive insurance.

2) Make it mandatory for all adults to have health insurance.

3) factor health insurance expenses in to net taxes paid. So for instance if Dan pays $1,000 in taxes this year (after deductions, excluding SS) and he also paid $1,000 in health insurance he would get back 100% of the taxes he paid, so no tax burden. If next year he gets a raise and pays $2,000 in taxes but still $1,000 in insurance he would get back $500 (health insurance would be 50% of his tax burden so he gets 50% back). $4,000 in taxes and he'd get back $250 and so on until it can be rounded to 0 and he's paying his full insurance by himself. You would also be able to add on the health care expenses of anyone you include as a dependent.

4) Anyone who's tax burden is less than their health care expenses (if they are very poor or have a pre-existing condition) would get back the full amount and the government would cover the difference. So Dan loses his job, he's now paying $0 taxes and 1,000 in health care, the government would step in and cover the full bill. Of if his costs go up to 2,000 and he's making only enough to pay 1,000 in taxes he would get the full sum back and the government would cover the other thousand, and so on.

I think this would A) provide coverage to everyone, B) provide for those who honestly can't provide for themselves while those who can still have to pay out of pocket, C) maintain competition and the ability to customize care that would be difficult in either a completely state run system or the system we have now, D) still encourage people to minimize their health care costs (it's not free, any money they save would benefit them), but not by simply doing without.

Just a thought I'd been rolling around, obviously very simplified and there are plenty of details to work out. But I was curious what others had to say on the subject, so feel free to rip in to it.