Schumer says he's for the "best and the cheapest" healthcare for Americans.

[Buckeyeblue]

13. To get cheaper insurance you have to bring down the cost of healthcare

The absurdity of healthcare is that there isn't one cost. The costs of procedures and tests vary depending on what the insurance company has negotiated. A big part of that cost is the administrative overhead. The hoops that offices (doctors) have to go through to get authorizations for some insurances (not all) is crazy, because insurance companies want doctors to try the cheapest treatments first.

So in order to come up with a truly affordable healthcare option, we have to come up with a way to drive down the overall costs.

The trick would be coming up with a plan that is administratively simple, while being attractive enough that it will gain widespread popularity to get high enrollment rates. Insurance is a numbers game. Even if you were non-profit, it's still a numbers game. This is the approach ACA takes--but we haven't given it enough time to see the overall benefit of having everyone covered to drive down overall costs (and without the individual mandate, we won't see this).

While my employer has decent coverage options, I would prefer an option outside of my employer. That way if I decide to switch employers I don't have to deal with having to change insurances too. I think this would make it possible for more people to start their own businesses.