Did someone mention affordable health care?

Medicine in the U.S. is a for profit business only affordable those people who can pay. There is nothing wrong with a for profit business model, as long as it is reasonable and everyone can afford it. For profit medicine on the other hand has become such a huge money maker that it excludes about one-third of all U.S. citizens.

Medicine should be run more like a non-profit, where everyone is covered and neither surgery or pharmaceuticals are the only options available. True preventive care, not diagnosis touted as prevention, should be put at the top of the list of the care provided. People may have heard how non-profit care can not afford to stay in business, no fault of their own. It is due to the profiteers: pharmaceutical industry and the medical technology industry charging high prices. If the profit aspect were taken out of the equation medicine would certainly be more affordable. If other forms of care which are not currently incorporated were working side by side with our current form of care and insurance companies had to cover them, then we would all would be better off.

If U.S. wants to create a health system to cover the homeless, elderly, and those who can't afford health care then start by eliminating duplication in the system. Combine Medicare and Medicaid. It makes no financial sense to have both. Remove executives and a few other duplicate jobs, keeping the employees needed to process claims and a few others. Instead of reinventing the wheel, copy the best parts of what other countries are doing in processing claims, making it easy enough for everyone to understand. Force the change to take place in 6 months, otherwise people will only drag their feet forever never completing the task resulting in claims it doesn't work. Once they have been joined the next step will be that much easier and faster. Collapse into this new system the Veteran Affairs medical care system. The new rules are in place, staff too, so adding it will take almost no time whatsoever.

From there begin offering health care to everyone not currently covered. Free to those who make 260% of minimum wage and below. You may think that is a high percentage, but if you really think about it, it isn't. If minimum wage is at $7 and hour 260% only comes to $18.20 per hour or $37,856 a year. If you think about what things cost today: rent, owning a car, food, clothing, and everything else needed to live and work, anyone making less than $40,000 is just barely getting by.

That is how you create affordable health care for everyone in the U.S.