HEALTH CARE REFORM:

Health care should be handled just like automobile or life insurance.  Only catastrophic loss should be covered and your health history is a major factor in the cost of the insurance. 

If you choose to smoke, drink, overeat, not exercise, etc. your premiums will reflect your choice.  You will have to pay for all medical care less than your deductible which should be as high as possible. 

For example: auto insurance does not pay for new tires, brakes, transmission repair, etc. 

A person should be able to purchase this insurance from the 1300 odd insurance companies throughout America.   

Again, this capability currently exists for auto and life insurance, why not medical insurance? 

Tort reform , meaningful tort reform such as "Loser Pays" tort reform which all other Western democracies other than ours have, would greatly reduce healthcare costs.   The cost of the $100,000 and up Medical Malpractice policies that doctors have to pay are passed on directly to the patients.  

Competition, meaningful tort reform, and a deductible will drive down the cost of healthcare tremendously.

Medicaid is also bankrupting many hospitals and the fact that the care is totally free is ridiculous.  Everyone has the ability to pay something when they are sick.  Free visits and rides to Emergency Rooms should be eliminated and visits should require a minimum payment of fifty dollars, unless it can be proven that the patient is totally destitute.