Dr. Muney and Health Insurance?

A New York doctor's “plan” to offer his services to the uninsured has come under fire from the New York State Insurance Department. Dr. John Muney offers his services for a flat rate of $79 per month with unlimited office visits, each at a $10 “co-pay.” The state of New York will maintain that this is too much like health insurance because it covers “unplanned” procedures. This situation offers plenty of material for debating the interpretation of the laws regarding health insurance. Read more on the story and the interesting debate that follows in the comments at this link.

What is more important than interpreting laws? There at times, in my opinion this is one of them, when it is more important to debate the nature and purpose of laws, as well as their mere interpretation. Here a doctor has arrived at a feasible model to offer his services to a specific population of the uninsured and our laws stand to try and stop him!? To blame insurance companies or bureaucracy is too easy and doesn’t help anything. We must understand that our government, OUR LAWS, represent us, they are an extension of us!

The national healthcare debate will heat up again in the near future when our current bout with cyclic economic strife moves into the rear view mirror yet again. Put simply, healthcare is not a simple issue. Transcending the limitations of bipartisan thought, moving thought beyond obsolete party lines, is essential to progression. My views, the views of many, can not be summed up with obsolete partisan politics. The complex issues/aspects of healthcare will have to be the subject of future posts. Here I want to echo, within the pages of Tom Paine's Ghost, the importance for all of us to give the issue of healthcare due thought from all perspectives.