Money & Change Healthcare Plan

Money & Change Healthcare Plan  (Americare)

Identification
1.  All drivers licenses in each state would have a chip or magnetic strip to identify legal citizens by photograph, valid social security number, address, blood type, fingerprint, etc. In addition, the card would store medical data that could be used as an In Case of Emergency (ICE) card for medical personnel. The citizen would be responsible to report any address changes within 60 days to the Department of Motor Vehicles and have the new data added to the card. The data chip in the card would also be updated with the reported net income with the amount paid for Americare as reported on their prior year's state income tax. This card would also be the source of identification for voter registration. Any fraudulent use of the card would result in a $10,000 fine and 30 days in jail.

Payment
2. Citizens (single or married couple) pay a fee of no more than 1.25% of their reported net state income tax earnings per year to their family healthcare provider or have it added to their state tax and that amount loaded into the card. A family of 3 would pay 1.5% of their income and a family of four would pay 1.75% of their net state income tax earnings per year. For larger families, the rate would increase by 25% per child / dependant. When filing state tax, the Americare taxable amount is added to the tax bill to be paid. If a person made $25,000 per year and paid 7% tax, the state tax would be $1750.00 plus $312.50 for Americare for a total of $2,062.50. The state would then pay the healthcare provider network that amount for the year. The healthcare provider would read the card at each time of use to determine if the patient was current with payment and input any medical data. If not, the patient would be charged for the amount to be paid by cash or credit card. Payments could also be made on a monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually basis to the healthcare provider. The amount paid will not be permitted to roll over into the next calendar year. Excess funds are kept by the healthcare provider to fund overhead costs.

Treatment
3.  When the patient visits the doctor and presents the card to the receptionist who will check the validity, the doctor of their choice in the healthcare provider system provides no appointment needed services during regular hours of operation for healthcare i.e.: treatment for colds, flu, blood pressure, diabetes, laceration treatment, minor surgery, etc. This would include wellness exams. House calls would be optional and cost $50 per visit. Medications would be an additional expense at the doctor's wholesale cost plus 10%. If using a pharmacy, it would be the wholesale cost (generics) plus 10% with no clawbacks. Any treatment data rendered will be updated in the card prior to the patient's leaving.

Catastrophic Insurance
4. Catastrophic insurance will be a separate from Americare. Citizens are given the opportunity to  shop for catastrophic insurance across state lines. This would cover severe cases: cancer, heart, lung, brain, kidney, transport or other long term care.  This data would be kept current in a separate card. All hospitals must take the catastrophic insurance chosen by the patient. This would be an additional cost to the citizen.

Medicaid / Public Assistance
5. Citizens on unemployment public assistance will have 1.25% of their assistance money placed in a Medicaid plan to be used for medical care. This will last for a maximum of 16 months. If not used, the remainder would be placed in a central "pool" of funds to support the program. As with the payment program listed in the payment section above, additional dependants would be charged an additional 25% and that would be taken out of their Medicaid income.
 
 
Disability
6. Citizens who are on valid disability and cannot work will be placed in Medicaid high risk pool. A 1.25% deduction from their disability funds would be deducted and placed into the Medicaid account. For citizens with more than one dependent, the rate would raise a 25% rate per dependant. This is to be reviewed every two years or by spot audit. If deemed a permanent disability, the applicant would be given a waiver for audit.
7.  All citizens (including politicians) are given the choices of accepting or opting out of the Americare program. Once opted out, you cannot re-enter for 2 calendar years.
8.  Those entering the United States for travel or work visas must have travel insurance. Any non-citizen visiting the United States will get emergency care at hospitals for emergency related medical events and will be billed for services rendered per U.S. Code. (Broken Bones, heart attack, suturing, etc.) All non-emergency situations will be referred to an urgent care clinic for cash or credit card payment. Any non-citizens who use emergency care at a hospital and cannot pay shall be responsible to notify the hospital in advance of treatment. The hospital shall assume all costs incurred.