The Alliance of Texans Against Government Controlled Healthcare
NotInTexas.org

1. States must regain control over healthcare.

The Tenth Amendment of the Constitution states: if the federal government does not have Constitutional power, the power belongs to the States or the people.  States must reassert their powers under the Tenth Amendment.

 2. States can then reverse costly and redundant state and federal legislation.

State government's sole function is monitoring the marketplace for fraud, and the federal government will play no role in healthcare.  Reversing costly mandates at the state and federal level will allow for lower costs and better regulation.

 3. States must pass legislation recognizing mediation and arbitration agreements as binding contracts between doctor and patient.  This will help prevent more unnecessary lawsuits on doctors.

 4. States establish Healthcare Charities

• Healthcare Charity organizations will not be run by the state or federal governments, nor will any money from the government be used to establish or maintain them.

• Healthcare Charities will be not for profit organizations, anyone can donate money to these Charities and have it tax deducted against their federal return.

• This will allow doctors and hospitals to be more effective at treating patients that cannot pay. Cost shifting will not be allowed. Doctors and hospitals are able to use tax advantages to help low income patients.

Since healthcare charities will have no government involvement, the marketplace and donations will dictate how they will be effectively used.

5. States must start the process of phasing out redistribution of wealth programs that neither the state nor federal governments can continue to sustain.

        State Medicaid Program

• The first step in phasing the Medicaid program would be to require a five year residency in the state in order to receive benefits.

• Then we allow private charities to take over in place of Medicaid.

• Place SCHIP program inside Medicaid. Using current federal legislation, no state would lose federal money for participating.

 6. People must be required to pay for their own healthcare.

• Doctors must be paid.  Doctors do not have the ability to refuse care, nor do they share in the financial risk.  Bankruptcy laws should not apply to doctors, if patients refuse to pay, they should be charged with theft of services.

• Doctors would have the ability to finance up to 5% of monthly income at no interest until the bills are paid.

• If a patient refuses to pay medical providers, only then the state can take over collection of the debt with wage garnishments and tax liens.

7. Allow for emergency room doctors to refuse care to patients that are not in a critical state, who cannot pay for the services.