Like many Americans, you probably agree with Donald Trump who wants to repeal Obamacare. But until Trump’s healthcare plan is enrolled, how do you receive quality medical care?
As the new president-elect Donald Trump said numerous times, he plans to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) also known as Obamacare. Even if the complete repeal seems to be impossible, it will be completely in his power to bend the law according to his plans or to defund the program. However, he hasn’t yet presented a complete healthcare project (so-called “Trump’s healthcare plan”) that would replace Obamacare nor he hasn’t explained how would the transmission happen for those 22 million Americans who gained insurance since the Affordable Care Act enrollment.
Even if it seems like progress that millions of people have insurance now, a recent survey by Gallup showed that 51% of Americans do not approve of Obamacare. Furthermore, the premiums are expected to rise by more than 20% in 2017 according to a government report. Clearly, the ACA needs further development. Among different things that Donald Trump promised for the healthcare system is developing tax-free Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), as well as increase the healthcare price transparency and access to imported drugs that would reduce prices through increased competition.
But until that happens, what choice do you have if you need quality treatment now? And even if Trump manages to enroll cross-state health plans purchase, which should make them more affordable, how much time will it take before the market regulates the prices and how much are you ready to pay out of your pocket now?
Will medical bills become affordable with Trump’s healthcare reform?
Mr. Trump sincerely believes that every person must be able to «shop» medical services, as in to compare the prices, their availability (or how long must a person wait to get them), and probably the quality to create more come competitiveness among the medical institutions. As much as it is a good initiative, can you actually imagine hospitals being like beauty salons where you can book a procedure knowing the price in advance and even submit quality/satisfaction reviews? Health is not an item and wellbeing is not something you can sell or buy.
However, there are other options and other ratings to trust. Not many people know that the best medical system (according to the World Health Organisation and 86% of satisfied patients) belongs to France. At the same time, French people never even try to “shop” for the best medical specialist. When something happens, they go to the nearest clinic, fully confident that their doctor will take care of them, no matter how much they pay. Luckily for the world, French medical professionals are happy to share their expertise and skills with everyone and gladly receive patients from other countries. But before you think that it must be expensive, better think twice, because French medicine is up to 70 % more affordable than the American one (based on average prices provided by the MTA). And as a cherry on the cake, when you travel to France for treatment with the help of Medifrance Solution, you know the price of medical treatment in advance.
Trumpcare vs. Omabacare: fair health business?
It is not a secret that some doctors in the USA prescribe unnecessary examinations, drugs and inflate the treatment prices that can be successfully negotiated by the insurance companies but have to be paid completely by the individuals. When you try to look up a price for a certain treatment/surgery, the best thing you can find is someone’s medical story or a large cost fork that presumably depends on the state you live in and other unknown things. It becomes clear that it is the doctors who set an individual price for each case.
Furthermore, sometimes medical institutions in the USA bill their patients for the services that were never provided or even let their patients receive an experimental treatment that hasn’t been approved by FDA “hiding” it as another insurance-covered care. It isn’t easy to go against a doctor’s authority and argue on the health matter as a pro, moreover, many people just want to get their health back without thinking twice.
Once again, according to Mr. Trump, we should be able to behave at the hospital as if we were at the market. We need to develop the reflex of disagreeing with doctors or find someone else who will represent our interests. This is totally possible when getting medical procedures in France: Medifrance Solution offers complete juridical assistance and even treatment monitoring for their clients. Thus, you will always know that Medifrance professionals have your back because they do use their leverage to defend you from paying too much and guarantee the best care for your case.
Trump’s healthcare plan: better quality of medical services?
In his Healthcare Reform position, Trump says that he plans to improve the quality of healthcare, however, it is not said how exactly. In fact, as a protectionist Republican, he will most likely slow down the arrival of the new surgical techniques to the USA, such as ceramic hip replacement surgery patented by the French orthopedic surgeons. It is very little used in the USA, yet these ceramic prostheses have a longer lifespan (up to 40 years) and less than 1% dislocation risk, whereas the hip resurfacing technique that is widely used in the US uses metal-on-metal implants. They raise the risk of postoperative dislocation to more than 20% and they are much less durable.
Additionally, American medicine is known to be “lagging” because of the lengthy process of FDA approval for the innovative treatment. Many Americans attempt to travel to Europe in search of experimental procedures to improve their wellbeing and even save their lives. Yet, they don’t know that with Medifrance Solution, they have access to innovative care in France — the country that spends more than $ 5 billion on clinical research and development; and even can get into the medical trials.
As they say, everything that happens — happens for the best, and hopefully in the future health care will really be affordable and accessible for everyone. But until that time don’t forget that you have other options.