title: Missing elements in the healthcare debate.
abstract: Financial flows in the U.S. healthcare system could be restructured in several ways to ensure that individuals and institutions pay their fair share: Eliminate subsidies for people with preventable illnesses and/or large families. Require not-for-profit hospitals to donate their tax exemptions to a state fund to help pay for care for the uninsured. Require health insurance companies to pay a percentage of their total premium revenue into a fund for graduate medical education. Eliminate copayments for pharmaceuticals, but require patients to pay the brand-generic cost difference if they wish to use brand-name drugs when generic drugs are available.
authors.affiliation: Boston University School of Management, Mass., USA. DavidYoung204@cs.com
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Young
mesh_terms: D004501:Education, Medical; D005380:Financing, Government; D018166:Health Care Reform / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006788:Hospitals, Voluntary; D006801:Humans; D017057:Medically Uninsured; D014481:United States