Family Managed Health Care

[Johnny L.A.]

Someone I know, whom I think is a Libertarian (and a libertine, to boot! ) sent me a link to the Family Managed Health Care plan. I've just started reading it, but I thought I'd throw it out there for comment and debate.

[Johnny L.A.]

Well, reading through it...

Families are the centerpiece of this system. This reverses a trend toward government assumption of the role of caregiver. It restores the family as decision-maker in private matters relating to health and care of family members. The system is designed to provide all families with employment options to satisfy the requirements of the system. This includes working multiple jobs, the ability to change jobs without losing benefits, the guaranteed support of family members in a medical crisis and the ability to influence the behavior of family members to improve their health.

<snip>

The extended family refers to the organization of the family. A family will begin with a man and a woman bearing offspring. Each offspring will subsequently meet someone and bear another generation of offspring and then they will repeat the process.

With each generation more members of the family pool are created.

This means a family pool can be anyone related by law or blood.

<snip>

The elderly have multiple options in providing for their health care future. One option is to have successful healthy offspring that can offset any health care cost that might be incurred later in life. It also will help to keep a healthy lifestyle and avoid medical expenses. This will allow the account for the elderly member to grow and be available for the later years.

My parents are dead. My sister and family are on Disability and don't work. I'm never going to get married or have a family. Sounds like a bad deal for me.

[Johnny L.A.]

OK, reading further I see they address people without families:

3.4.1. Too Few Family Members

One of the issues that will impact the family pool structure is the matter of pool size. Large families with many descendents will enjoy continued protections from the system. But family pools that contract will see their protections diminished. The system provides the ability to merge pool accounts with other family pools sharing their minimum rate. If two families that have dropped below the effective pool size agree, they can be merged into a new pool provided they understand the impact on their respective pools by merging. If the two families have the same family pool rate the impact is minimal. So like pools will be allowed to merge.

So you can join another pool -- if another pool will let you in.

3.4.2. Grouped Accounts

The possibility of having an individual that is not part of a family pool exists. This will require the availability of Grouped Accounts. For example, an illegal immigrant that has not established an account would have to be assigned to a grouped account to receive health related services. These grouped accounts are for accounting purposes and to track liability chargeable to an entity outside the system. In the case of the illegal immigrant, if he was from Mexico, a grouped account for all illegal immigrants from Mexico will be created. Responsibility for this pool may be the Federal Government or the Mexican Government or some other negotiated entity.

Ah, yes! The demon Mexican Illegals!

On my quick reading, this doesn't sound like a good plan. Why have millions of accounts spread amongst thousands of banks? Why limit (for the most part) people to being pooled with their own families? What about gay people, who are probably not going to have offspring? What about people like me, for whom the window for starting a family has closed? It sounds as if the FMHC plan wants to do what those of us who would prefer a government-run plan want -- only they want to enforce their own moral values upon participants.

[Johnny L.A.]

One bump.

If no one replies, let's just let it die and I'll tell my acquantance I think the plan sucks.