Improve Patient Access With “Personal Options”

by Dr. Lee Gross

June 27, 2023

Recurrently, observers of healthcare systems, have been observing the debacle of government run healthcare systems.  In the United Kingdom, ambulance drivers are striking for the SECOND time in less than a month, with officials telling the public not to call emergency services unless the situation is life threatening. The situation is so bad that Ukrainian refugees in the UK are returning home for needed medical treatment because wait times in the UK are prohibitively long. These individuals have actually chosen to return to a war-torn country because they believe their healthcare access there is better than the opportunities they have through the British National Health System.

Back in North America, Canada’s health system is experiencing surgical backlogs and  staff shortages according to a Fraser Institute report.

These recent experiences demonstrate, once again that the single-payer model is expensive, and uncompassionate.  To be sure, our American health care costs too much, there’s too much paperwork and too many surprise bills. But a government takeover like Medicare-for-All would only make things worse while letting special interests game the system.

Instead of building a new government system from scratch, we need to keep what works and fix what doesn’t with a Personal Option.  

Every man, woman, and child in our country should be able to access the health care they need– regardless of their income.  As the name implies, a Personal Option offers all Americans more flexibility and trusts them to make their own decisions about their own health care, from insurance coverage to what doctors they can see to accessing new therapies. Health care should be all about choice and control—who you trust with the important decisions about your health care. 

One way to give you control over your health care spending would be to allow all Americans to access Health Savings Account (HSA). Similar to 401(k) retirement accounts, HSAs allow participants to set aside money on a pre-tax basis to pay for eligible medical expenses.

Contributions to your HSA are tax deductible and all interest earned is 100% tax deferred. You can further reduce your overall taxable income if contributions are made through payroll deductions. The accounts can be used to pay for copays, deductibles, prescriptions, vision, and dental care. But HSAs are only available to people with a federally defined high-deductible health insurance plan — just 10% of Americans. Congress should change the law so that every American who wants an HSA can have access to one.

Direct Primary Care (DPC) is another payment model that would help reduce costs. DPC allows patients access to quality health care with a monthly subscription fee, payable to the physician – cutting out the insurance middleman.

DPC removes the fee-for-service structure whereby physicians are compensated for services that may or may not be needed. Without the fee-for-service, the inclination to tack on unnecessary or redundant tests is eliminated. The end result is a doctor that spends less time filling out insurance forms and spends more time with the patient. Congress needs to change the law so that all Americans can choose to join a DPC and deduct health care costs on their tax returns.

The best way to improve health care is to increase flexibility in healthcare, because what works in Manhattan may not work in rural Arcadia, Florida. By supporting policies that provide doctors more flexibility and patients more choice and control, the Personal Option lets Americans succeed in keeping the chaos of the single-payer system of away from their healthcare.

Dr. Lee Gross is the owner of Epiphany Health & president of Docs 4 Patient Care Foundation.