The American Care Card
Written by:  Steven Wolf msatcrywolf@yahoo.com  ATLANTA, GA  678.770.4478
Find me on FaceBook / Steven Wolf Atlanta
Follow me on Twitter @CareCardUSA

 

A reformation of America's assistance apparatus as unique and exceptional as America 

Georgia's county run, private market answer to an

infinitely sustainable and fraud proof

assistance allocation system 

 

 

"the Care Card would lower premiums even with the conditions"
said an Insurance Industry Expert

"What a fantastic idea.  How did you come up with that?"
said an Assistant to the Surgeon General

 

                                                                               

 

 

 The American Care Card is 
an entitlement reform initiative
 designed to protect
 The AMERICAN DREAM

 

 

 

 Most Americans will never need to be assigned a Care Card.
But, if you require assistance for life's toughest moments, give Kathlene a call.

Kathlene is an employee at The Georgia State Department of Health and Human Services.
 She will assign to you your personal Care Card benefits administrator and 
put the Care Card's free-market solutions providers
 to work for you.

With a little assistance and plan of action,
Kathlene thinks you'll be back on your feet in no time! 
 

Paul's Short 'Care Card' Story
You'll have an opportunity as you read further to understand the mechanics of The Care Card.  For now though, allow me the pleasure of first perking your curiosity by posing a scenario that involves a fictitious person named Paul.  Paul is just your average American citizen and he was laid off some months ago. His savings is now gone and things are getting really tough, very quickly.  Paul needs help.
 
Paul can ask for assistance for whatever he needs by making one call and filling out one application with one very nice person at Georgia’s Department of Health and Human Services (GaHHS).  Walter works for the private company that was awarded Georgia's Care Card Administration Contract.  He was assigned by his managers as Paul's Care Card Administrator.  It's Walter's job to get Paul back on his feet and off of public assistance as quickly as possible.  It's also Walter's job to make sure Paul has the assistance and resources necessary to complete that task so that Paul can begin 'paying forward' the cost of all of that assistance.  

Foremost on Paul's mind is the fact that he's been under the weather.  GaHHS qualified Paul for assistance, but it's Walter's job to figure out how much assistance is required and after looking into Paul's financial records, he agreed that he would have a hard time paying for the tests and medications he needs.  He told Paul that he has been approved for going to the doctor using his newly assigned Georgia Care Card and he also qualified to purchase private health insurance through one of the Exchanges if he chose to.  For right now, Paul decided to just get in to see a doctor.  Paul went online to shop for the consultation / exam and found the best deal with a reputable doctor in his area.  The best deal was an appointment at 3pm.  Must have been that the doctor was slow on Tuesdays around this time of day to offer the exam for so little.  Paul went to the doctor and the doctor informed him of the tests he thought he should run.  The doc assessed and updated Paul’s medical files physically through Paul's Care Card; it has a chip embedded into it that allows that.  Paul went online at the doctor's office to see how the doctor's rates for these tests compared to the other doctors in town; every authorized Care Card provider has a computer with internet access on site.  The rates were pretty good and so he reserved the tests online using his Care Card number and then he called Walter to get the approval he needed to release the funds.  Walter approved the tests and then added the necessary funds to Paul's card for that particular doctor’s ‘POS’ machines; these are the machines that the doctor uses to process Credit Card payments.

Later, Paul had a few questions for the doctor; about the Care Card system and if he liked it.  He told Paul that he actually preferred Care Card holders and he didn't mind offering his services for less to get more Care Card business.  He said that the Care Card program really helped his new private practice by filling his slower appointment slots.  He also said that the program cut out a lot of his normal administrative filing and collection costs, he was glad that the headache that Medicaid and Medicare gave him in the years past was just a distant memory.  He appreciated getting paid immediately for services rendered and really liked being able to price his services how he saw fit.

Later that evening, Paul decided to look into the insurance options that Walter suggested.  Paul knew that he wasn't required to get insurance unless his condition was 'not routine', but decided to play it save.  He chose a plan and a carrier that had a great customer satisfaction rating on the exchange and then called Walter the next day.  Paul was amazed at how low the premiums were, thinking to himself, 'I guess that's what happens when everyone who wants to have access to the system has to compete with each other.  The plans all had $10,000 annual Care Card financed deductibles but he'd be covered 100% for anything and there wasn't a co-pay like the normal 'private market' options.  Paul didn't have to tell the insurance companies anything about his health record, gender, or age except that he was over 45.  He didn't have to worry about making the premium payments while unemployed because it's directly financed each month by the Care Card Fund.  Paul had never had to use a public assistance program in his life and he didn’t feel guilty either.  That’s because the Care Card program would deduct 10% from his payroll checks when he did find work until his balance was paid in full.  The interest amount was great too; ‘Prime +1’.  Financing is guaranteed by the fund so it wasn't even necessary for him to have a good credit score; everyone gets this financing deal so long as they're approved for assistance.  He chose the bank that administer his statements that he receives each month on the exchange also.  He picked the bank with the third lowest monthly administration fee because they had the highest satisfaction rating on this particular exchange.

Paul was told that as long as he kept his unpaid balance below 30K he didn't have to purchase the Life Insurance to cover his liabilities to the fund.  Paul admits that this little feature does motivate him to keep his use of the Care Card assistance program as low as possible.  Heck, having to speak to Walter each week and getting a statement each week is really helpful too.  Sometimes it's nice having a 'life coach' to motivate and help set a path.

Paul realized that he would need Food Stamp assistance for a while, so he called Walter to ask for his approval and fund release for the week after going online to choose a grocery store.  The grocer he decided on had the lowest prices for all the foods that he thought he'd need this week and it was near to where he lived.  Paul knew that he couldn't get lobster tails anymore, but appreciated it nonetheless. 

Paul had another issue.  He didn't have a way to pay his mortgage note till he found work again.  He remembered though, that back when the Care Card initiative started in his state, he knew that he didn't get the Mortgage Interest Tax Deduction anymore.  That was 4 years ago.  Paul only remembered vaguely what it meant to him, but Walter reminded him.   He was actually building a Care Card Voucher Credit Line equal to what his net tax savings would have been.  Walter told him that he qualified to release these funds he had built up to put on his mortgage note.  It was released directly to the bank that serviced his mortgage and that sure did take a big weight off his shoulders.  

Paul found two part time jobs in the next few weeks.  His employers will simply deduct 10% from each check until his Care Card balance is paid in full.  Paul is happy that the deduction is such a small amount that it doesn't impact his net income so much.  The Care Card program even financed his unemployment checks until had his first full checks.

Paul is still looking for something full time and decided to keep his insurance through the Care Card because his new employers don't offer insurance to part-time employees.  Walter told Paul that it might be helpful for him to go back to school part time for a degree because that's where the earnings and benefits potential was.  Walter told him that he would qualify for continued education though the Care Card because he had logged over 25 hours per week with employers for the minimum of 6 months.  Paul knows he'll continue to qualify as long as he continues to put in at least 25 hours each week.

Two months into the Care Card assistance, the car that Paul was driving to work had a water pump that just gave out.  He called Walter and qaulified to finance the repair and maintenance on his vehicle through the Care Card.  He went on line and found a Care Card exchange that specialized in Auto Care.  He entered in all the particulars about his car and found a shop that would tow it in and replace the pump for only $326.00.  It was the best deal in town that included towing and transportation for him to pick up the car once the repair was complete.  Paul called Walter after reserving the three services online and Walter released the funds onto the card.  There isn't any public transportation in his area and he didn't have a way to get to work and school without his car.    
 
Fast forward...  Paul is doing really well.  He finished his degree and was able to land a great job last month.  He's really grateful for all the help Walter and the Care Card program had been during a really difficult time in his life.  Paul was told that if he maintained the full time job for a year, he could qualify for lots of other Care Card assistance programs.  The Care Card could help with back taxes, elective dental work, and child support arrears too.  Lucky for Paul though, his job pays so well that he doesn't qualify and doesn't need to qualify.  Life took a really bad turn, but Paul came out of it 'all right'.  Hard work, determination, a plan, the care of Walter, and a big helping hand called 'The Georgia Care Card' made all the difference.   The 10% deduction from his great new salary at the job paid for very bit of assistance he received through the Care Card program in just 11 months.  After that and without any more deductions, Paul started packing the money away into savings just in case he had another one of lifes 'rainy days'.

Does this scenario sound like some sort of euphoric society that exists just out of reach of reality?
The Care Card assistance program can be a reality though.


From the Author 

As the health care bill was being debated, I did research.  The more research I did, the more alarmed I became.  I just knew that there had to be another way and something inside inspired me to begin thinking and putting my ideas on paper.  I started this blog about 5 months after that endeavor began.  Prior to this, I was just typing, revising, and printing up copies of my ideas to pass out to customers in my business and in Washington, D.C. on the two occasions that I had time to drive out from here in Atlanta.  What follows is only half of what I've written because I've erased more than what's still here.  If what you're about to read inspires you enough to consider helping out in any way, including co-authoring, or maybe it sparks an idea that you think would make a valuable contribution, whatever the case, please contact me.  As far as I know, this initiative is the only 'perpetually sustainable' solution in existence for our broken and 'perpetually under-funded' entitlement system we currently have.  If you are knowledgeable of any other solutions being published, I'd love to hear about them. 

Some of my personal opinions and inspirations follow.

I whole-heartedly believe that a free market and a representative government that protects personal liberty and the free market place is the perfect catalyst of a great society.  In my humble opinion, these are also the single most important components in 'the natural evolution of innovation' and it's these components that make America 'exceptional'.  I believe that it is precisely because of these liberties that this 'evolution of innovation' spawns so well in our country and that this is why America has had and continues to have the 'privilege' of promoting and protecting liberty and freedom from oppression in all forms here and abroad.  Furthermore, I believe we are all endowed by our creator with this 'liberty' and have a responsibility to keep both, our liberties intact and, very importantly, our financial house in order, so that we can continue doing the work of 'promoting' liberty.  I also believe that a truly great society has a duty to care for and protect the weakest among them from harm.  There is no 'just' reasoning for any one of us to deny a man or woman their God given right to liberty, their constitutional guarantees of equal protection under law, or their simple right to pursue happiness.

In my perfect America, we are not forced through heavy taxation to provide assistance to others who can provide for themselves but choose not to.  In my perfect America, assistance in the form of 'investment' should be provided in every imaginable way to those among us who deserve it; those among us who are willing to 'work' toward a prosperous tomorrow.  In my perfect America, nothing is free and handouts are reserved for those who are truly unable to help themselves because of severe and debilitating handicaps.
 
I believe that a government should protect its citizens from any entity, foreign AND domestic, intent on unfairly harming its citizens including its citizen's business interests.  I believe that government should in no way 'compete' with the free marketplace or institute policies that give any unfair advantage to any segment of that marketplace.  I passionately believe that every step our government takes to manipulate the free market has an opposite consequence that is not proportionate, but is always destructive to, the free market.  I believe in efficient and very limited government.  I believe that almost every service that our Government provides can be provided in a more effective and efficient manner by private enterprise in a free marketplace.
  
With that being said, what follows is a plan of action, a mode of operation designed to effectively and efficiently care for the distressed among us without unfairly burdening everyone else or their business interests.  This plan will, in effect, take the government out of the private marketplace and weave 'personal responsibility' and 'accountability' back into the fabric of our national identity. 

You should know that I am a fiscal and constitutional Conservative and a social Libertarian.  I PROUDLY consider myself to be a 'Tea Party Patriot'.

Table of Contents
(click link to fast forward) 

Preface I
Preface II
Introduction to the American Care Card; changing the dynamic of 'assistance'
What is the Care Card? 
How will the Care Card be funded?
The Care Card PROMISES "short list"
Extolling the Virtues of the Care Card
New rules for our new Care Card enabled world

Getting the facts straight: the state of health care in the States
Keeping our economy strong requires CHANGE NOW
More scenarios in the human impact of the Care Card

Reviewing the Benefits                
The Care Card benefits Americans from all walks of life
Care Cards benefit the Financial Services and Insurance Industries
Care Cards benefit the Medical Establishment and the University Systems 
Care Cards benefit the Taxpayers 

 

Preface I 

 

You may personally feel that what you are about to read, no matter how brilliant you or I might think it is, has absolutely no chance of coming to fruition.  But, I assure you, I have designed the mechanisms my which everyone in these states will know about its existence.  I encourage you to read on no matter how daunting the task is and please consider getting involved.  

Frankly, if you think that a person should not be allowed to aspire to greatness then all is well.  But, if you think that your children should have the 'opportunity to be exceptional', then you cannot allow the 'European assimilation' to take place.  We are not a 'socialist democracy'.  We are a republic that is driven to exceptionalism by entrepreneurs and capitalists who do their hard work day and night in a free marketplace. 

In Spain, a citizen is not allowed to work more than 36 hours a week and retailers are not allowed to remain open past 8pm.  Exceptionalism and drive in the marketplace has been sequestered by their government in the name of 'fairness'.  The European 'fairness doctrine' is enforced with fines, regulation and jail time.   

We American, in contrast, are free to devote hour after hour and year after year to our employers and our businesses as a result of the profound love we have for our families.  Our unending drive to work harder and innovate better than our counterparts is what makes us exceptional. 

The Care Card Initiative will be American taxpayers 'Declaration of Independence'.   It will change everything about the dynamic of politics in this country and it has the ability to end capitalism's struggle against socialism forever. 
 

I am currently at work creating of the vehicles of promotion for the Care Card Initiative.  They are a not-for-profit 501C4 foundation called 'The AAAid Initiatives', which is a project designed to give meaningful purpose, sustenance, rehabilitation, job training, and careers to willing and able homeless persons all over the country.  The other is a for-profit advertising company named 'The Good Neighbor'.  Both projects are like no other in existence and both are designed to work in unison providing the funding and promotion of what will, God willing, become Georgia's version of this initiative; 'The Georgia Care Card'.  These companies will create tens of millions in profits as well as sustainable and substantial contributions to my favorite charities: The Shriners Hospital System and Feed the Children.  All of this will very purposely take place through the private marketplace; without a penny of government assistance.  They will grow into every major city and touch the lives of the homeless and the destitute in very profound and remarkable ways.  I am currently working diligently in order to raise the 30K necessary to fund the first of these projects.

I would really appreciate the assistance of the people I admire and trust most in having the same motivations; a strong America.  If that is you, please reach out by investing in 'The Good Neighbor' or by getting involved in the development of either the Care Card initiative or the AAAid Initiative.  If nothing else, simply contribute by telling others within your circle where they can find what you're reading today.

 

As Todd Beamer, a passenger on the hijacked Flight 93 said: "Let’s roll".

There's hard work to do.

Preface II
Replace the words 'entitlement program' with the words 'federally guaranteed low-interest loan initiative' and you're well on your way to understanding what the American Care Card Initiative is about.

The American Care Card will return to our doctors and our teachers the right to price their services in a truly free marketplace.  It will require that our medical insurance industry abide by the same anti-trust laws that maintain the competitive marketplaces for every other American industry.  The Care Card is the 'sustainable' pathway to ensuring that every American citizen within our borders has access to the hallmarks of an exceptional American society; education, medical care, shelter, sustenance, and liberty from oppressive taxation.  It also ensures that unlawful immigrants are no longer burdening our taxpayers or our hospitals and school systems.

The Care Card ends our government's unfettered encroachment into the medical marketplace and the education of our youth.  It will ensure that good teachers and good governors are rewarded generously. 

It will end the fraud and waste that currently infests our government's social welfare programs and it will provide for a transition and transformation of the costly and unsustainable Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security programs into viable and sustainable thriving private marketplace enterprises.  The Care Card is designed to return massive budget surpluses, low tax burdens, and record setting low unemployment. 

It does all of these things by championing two tenants within our social welfare programs:  the free market place and personal responsibility. 

We have been reminded over and over again that the free marketplace cannot be manipulated by our government in a way that actually benefits our society or the consumer.  The socialist agenda of Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac and the three trillion dollar market correction that we currently find ourselves riling in, has cost us and the entire world dearly.  We also continue to be overly burdened by insurance premiums and taxes as a result of the obligations that the Medicare and Medicaidplaces on our medical industries.  The American consumer is now almost wholly detached from the normal marketplace relationship it once enjoyed with medical providers over a half century ago.  Among other things, our governors have acted against the interests of citizens by legislating the free marketplace 'out' of the insurance industry; in effect taking 'choice' away from consumers.  Our children also suffer because our teachers and our school's administrators don't work in a free marketplace that requires excellence and innovation in order to survive.  Parents don't have choices because our governments have monopolized our primary educational systems and have removed equitable 'choice' in order to protect their interests; unfettered access to 'our money'.   American children can be the brightest in the world if we give free marketplace innovation the 'right' to flourish in our educational systems.   The 'profit' motive in a competitive marketplace naturally ensures 'innovation' and 'choice'.  The American Care Card returns to us this very practical and most basic 'pro-consumer' dynamic.

My fellow Americans, we are at the precipice of what will no doubt be a very trying new decade. Unemployment is at record levels and taxes on our money and our employers is on the rise.  Sales are down and businesses are closing doors and tightening belts.  Statistically, our economy must create 3% growth for a period of more than 10 years just to return to our previous footing.  Our government's tax receipts are falling and IOUs are being mailed out instead of tax refunds.  Our schools, libraries, parks, and entire hospitals and transit systems are shutting down because our governments have amassed over 70 TRILLION dollars worth of unfunded liabilities; budgets are in disarray.  We haven’t seen the beginning of the worst and our representatives are busy dreaming up ways to stifle the industries we rely on by raising taxes in order to create new and ever larger entitlements programs and by also further disadvantaging our businesses with burdensome regulation.  It's these 'under-funded' and ‘unsustainable’ entitlement programs that are forcing our doctors out of their professions, our students out of their educations, and our children out of the bright futures we once thought hard-work and education would guarantee. 

Our fore-fathers envisioned an 'exceptional' America.  That is where our roots are and we will not find exceptionalism in an assimilation with Europe.  It is precisely because of the free marketplace that America once attracted the finest doctors, engineers, professors, and businessmen from all over the world.   That attraction is fading quickly as we assimilate with the European governing model.  Soon, we too will have completely destroyed our private marketplaces and we will surely be paying the rates of taxation that are common in Europe.  We too, like European countries, will soon be so burdened by the costs of unfettered social welfare programs that our great country will not be able to maintain a superior military force.  Only those countries 'without' these burdens will be able to do so.  I hope you are with me in not wanting to be in a world where the only great armies standing are in countries like China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran.  This is the world we will soon find ourselves in if we don't change the dynamics. 

There is an alternative and Americans can have the 'lowest' personal tax burdens and unemployment rates in the world and the highest quality of care for its seniors and it’s less fortunate.  We must simply change the way in which we help each other.  By doing so, we can usher in and sustain an unmatched era of prosperity and it all starts here; in Georgia.

Read on...

We are all aware that most every 'entitlement' function within our government is ineffective, wasteful, and corrupt at best.  The Care Card entitlement system is simply a transparent marketplace and entitlement allocation system by which beneficiaries will be motivated to keep the burdens they place on our society low.  

The Care Card will reinvigorate every American's ability to admire the struggle and personal responsibility required to secure 'the American Dream'.  It's only 'with' that struggle, that the accomplishment be 'truly appreciated'. 

The Care Card system will also ensure that doctors and patients are in charge of health care and that our nation's insurance companies have the ability to provide low cost access to our doctors and alternative therapies.  Doctors will finally breathe a sigh of relief because the Care Card facilitates immediate 'cash like' payments for services without the billing and collections burdens that indigents, insurance providers, Medicaid and Medicare place on their practices' bottom-lines.  It will put the doctors back in charge of their rates and sever the bureaucratic strangle hold our government continuously threatens them with.  It will lower the costs of all medical products and services by erasing the fraud and waste that infests them. 

For the first time ever, the entitlement beneficiary will be a 'vested and informed' consumer who will be motivated to hunt for 'value' in transparent private-sector marketplaces.  The Georgian consumer is in charge in a Care Card enabled environment.

Please get involved by reading what follows and feel free to communicate what it is that you would change in this initiative.  It is in its infancy and you can help shape its final form.  Scroll down to BLOG your suggestions and please encourage others to read what you are taking the time to read today.

I am currently working to create 'bullets of interest' on the side-bar area of this blog so that you can have the opportunity to easily fast forward to those portions of the Care Card initiative that strike a particular interest for you.  Until then, please forgive the construction debri.

Introduction to The American Care Card... 

Changing the dynamic of assistance
One million dollars invested by an intelligent entrepreneur will provide direct support for the families of its ten employees for a year and indirectly for a portion of it's suppliers employees.  In fact, the initial investment will have been transformed into $1.2 million by that intelligent entrepreneur; $200,000 in profits.  As well, the employees of that company will have paid approximately $20,000 in taxes.  Profits 'create' jobs and wealth through expansion and innovation.  Profit is the catylst of the innovation necessary to create cheaper and better products and services.  That one million dollar investment will affect all of that and yet despite all that it accomplished, it will not have been 'spent'; the initial investment of $1 million will still be intact and poised to run that business for yet another year.  The benefit of the initial investment compounded, year after year.

In contrast, it required the combined taxes of the employees of 5 such companies in order to fund a government investment of $1 million.  Since government employees cost much more than their equivalents from the private sector, the net effect is less product and service production per dollar.  Since government expenditures do not produce profits or generate revenue, the initial investment will have unfortunately expired and all of the products and services it will produce with the new taxes in the following year will cost, never less.     

What if we applied the same 'compounding profits' principles that work in our private sector to our government run entitlement programs? 

Collectively, our governments (local, state, and federal) 'assist' Americans to the tune of 3.2 trillion dollars each year.  That is a rough estimate of all the dollars we spend incarcerating, educating, litigating, regulating, and assisting each other on state, county, local, and federal levels. 

Imagine what would happen if we 'compounded' all those dollars.

While I think we can all agree that we would like to have the ability to care for everyone who needed our assistance, the current entitlement system seems to only feed a cycle of dependence that is eroding our fiscal ability to offer help. The Care Card is a system of entitlement allocation that compounds tax dollars instead of relinquishing them.  It sustains each tax dollar's kinetic productivity by simply changing the way in which we go about helping each other.  We will replenish the supply of tax funds each year just like we always have.  The only difference is now, we'll have the ability to accumulate more; much more.  For the first time in U.S. history, we will have the ability to HELP MORE and TAX LESS each subsequent year.  

The Care Card system of entitlement funding is designed to help folks get motivated about helping themselves by providing solid pathways out of poverty through assistance, direction, and personal development.  We're going to 'invest' in each beneficiary's success.  Most folks will be good investments, some won't, and some folks truly are physically unable to care for themselves.  But, every good investment will produce one brand new taxpayer and the inspiration necessary to end a generational dependency.  We have to keep in mind that now, under the current system, absolutely $0 of these entitlement dollars are recouped and, as if that weren't bad enough, we are using the most ineffective and inefficient model known to us to administer that help; the government.  
 
The Care Card system of assistance allocation can provide us with all of the means necessary to positively change each beneficiaries prospects for success.  We're going to be fiscally capable of helping folks in 'unconventional' ways designed to have a profound impact on a struggling persons 'upward mobility'.  Access to many of the Care Card benefits is tied to a beneficiary's willingness to improve themselves through personal development initiatives and to be employed while doing so. 

Positive 'action' will unlock a plethora of initiatives such as:  

 

Health and life insurance, medical care, continued education, housing assistance, marriage and dietary counseling, drug and criminal rehabilitation, tax preparation, court and fine costs, restitutions, dentistry, chiropractic and alternative medicines and therapies, dependent child care (including day care, child support arrears, head start and tutoring, and school nutrition initiatives), prescriptions, legal assistance, bail or bonds and probationary fees for non-violent offenders, transportation, used clothing purchase allocations, federal and state tax arrears, shelter, and food-stuffs.

  

Care Card 'life coaches', simply put, will be our 'investment' managers and they will be compensated according to their success at returning investment profits (ROI); just like the private sector. 

For America, the Care Card will usher in more corporate prosperity, efficiency, and competitiveness, more democratic influence, and most importantly, more educational prowess than any nation on earth has ever before witnessed.  In fact, The American Care Card could very well become the template for the administration of benefits for many nations all over the world.

The Care Card can deliver to America a revitalized sense of “Brotherhood” through "RESPONSIBLE Compassion" that absolutely everyone can feel good about.  Read on to find out exactly how.


What is the Care Card?

Physically, the Care Card looks just like a credit card.  In fact, it's also issued by a financial institution and the financial institution sends out the statements each month and handles any discrepancies with billing.  That's just about where similarities end though.  Unlike a credit card, the Care Card allows your doctor to gain access to your medical records and it allows a pharmacy the ability to correctly fill your prescriptions.  For folks who are on Medicare and Medicaid, it's how they gain access to the best and most cost-effective doctors, prescriptions, and medical devices.  For Veterans, it’s how they can get access to a pool of private doctors outside of the Veterans Hospital System.  For someone who needs housing assistance, it's how they pay for the best deal in Section 8 housing, and, for a student who needs help with funding their education, it's how he or she can find the right school, the right professors, and the right curriculum at the right price.  Without going through a tiring list of examples, the card is essentially one half of the user-end of a single centrally-directed stateside "Benefits Administration System".

 

 

The American Care Card is a legislative initiative and it is the mechanism by which 'entitlement benefits' will be transformed into 'Investment Initiatives'; investments that are repaid by their beneficiaries to the taxpayers that funded them.  The function of the American Care Card is to care for Americans in more substantial ways to the ends of:
 
·         Lessening the burdens on the American taxpayer,
·         Lowering the costs of care for Americans in-need, and
·         Facilitating the upward mobility of America's less-advantaged in order to assist them to become self-sufficient.
 
Access to medical care, access to educational development, accountability for everyone who benefits from that access, and the sustainability of that access:  These are the primary goals of The American Care Card initiative.

 

Public tax coffers don’t have to be over-burdened by citizenry unconcerned about the costs of the medical services they consume and the slew of state and federal entitlement programs they benefit from.  The Care Card system is designed to shield Americans when hard times hit.  It's directed by the elected "Care Card" Commission and services are administered within each state by the private contractors that are selected by the Commission to run each of their state’s Health and Human Services operations.  If someone needs assistance with something, he or she can simply call in.  They'll be assigned a personal representative who will help them through the process.  There's only one application to fill out and, if the person qualifies, the representative will tailor a program that meets their basic needs and will hopefully get them to the place they really want to be; a place of independence.  The beneficiary will be required to submit to the gathering of biometric information for the issuance of their personal Care Card and will need to contact their representative each week to ask for each week’s assistance and to keep their representative abreast of progress.

The other half of the Care Card system is the interaction the beneficiary has with his or her HHS representative and the online private-market exchanges.  A beneficiary will request help with certain items in order to address concerns in their life and the HHS representative will suggest a plan of action.  Each investment initiative that is approved by the representative will require that the participant 'shop' for the private sector provider of the product or service through one of the online exchanges.   There will no doubt be a number of private web exchanges operating to provide those products and services and those exchanges will be open to folks who have alternative funding sources also.  Once a Care Card participant ‘clicks’ and enters their personal Care Card number, the provider is 'locked in' on the offer.  That person's HHS representative will locate the 'purchase order' in the HHS system and then 'release' the funds for payment to the 'chosen' provider.  Those funds can only be released by a POS’s at the provider's establishment.  Each and every benefit provided through the Care Card will result in a charge reflected on the beneficiary's monthly 'Care Card statement' and the Care Card holder will then be responsible for the repayment of the purchase cost plus the financing of it.  Repayment will not be voluntary and will only take place through small deductions from the participants payroll checks while they are collecting payroll checks.  The Care Card system is as simple as that.

Keep in mind that our current entitlement programs recoup exactly 0 (zero) of those entitlement dollars for the tax base.  The Care Card will facilitate the repayment of a large portion of the estimated $3.2 trillion we provide each year; with interest.

The American Care Card requires payments for the 'able-bodied and employed' at 10% of the participant’s pretax income (15% for beneficiaries with an unpaid balance over $15K).  Repayment by the beneficiary to the 'Care Card Fund' is facilitated through payroll deductions just like standard FICA deductions.  Those payments are deposited into the 'Care Card Fund'.  Payments are not required while a participant has no source of income and all Care Card participants must be current with federal and state income tax filings to be eligible for Care Card benefits.  If a tax professional can't be afforded, the participant may use the Care Card's web exchanges to shop for a tax preparer and have the charges for that service placed on his or her Care Card.  By law, no Care Card libility may be bankrupted; a Care Card balance is considered a tax to affect those ends.  Any and all taxpayer funded or subsidized assistance program must be administered through the Care Card program.  It must be true for all in order to be fair to all.

A Care Card holder’s monthly statements are administered through participating financial institutions that are chosen by the participant from one of the Care Card exchanges.  Those financial institutions will compete on the fees they charge for customer service calls and paper statements.  The statements will allow a Care Card participant to remain abreast of their itemized balance and all 'Care Card approved' private banking institutions have agreed to the federally guaranteed low-interest loans at a rate of prime + 1%.  These loans are deferred 12-months before repayment to the bank is administered by the HHS from the Care Card Fund. 

It’s just as though each person who required assistance was a company and taxpayers are the stockholders in those companies.  When a company does well, the stockholders get dividends.

We already have a plethora of initiatives designed to help Americans who need assistance.  What we desperately needed all along was a "SUSTAINABLE" approach to providing that assistance.  The Care Card is just that.


How will the Care Card be Funded?

A 2% sales tax.  That's all.  The remainder of the funds? The American taxpayer already fully funds each local, state, and federal entitlement, public service, and tax credit ($3.2 trillion worth); everything from Earned Income Credits (EIC) and Food Stamps to housing assistance and the costs of the incarceration of our criminals.   These funds will be pulled and 'tagged' and placed into the 'Care Card Fund'.  It's from this fund that all benefits will be administered.  The Care Card is simply the vehicle by which these funds will be repaid to the original funding sources.  

Most important to our economy, enormous surpluses will materialize as a direct result of The American Care Card program.  Much of the surpluses will be used to facilitate 'real' UPWARD MOBILITY within America’s underprivileged population through a massive expansion of 'Investment Initiatives' in the educational development of the folks who require public assistance.  Everyone requiring financial assistance will have access to an education through this system if they only acquire and maintain part-time employment.  This strategy will help to break the cycle of dependency on taxpayer funded entitlements and will deliver to those willing to work a renewed sense of empowerment through education.  It’s by design that taxpayers will have 'invested' in the upward mobility necessary to create another citizen who will, in time, pay taxes and repay the investment.

Once Care Card surpluses pay off federal debts in full, the 2% sales tax will be rescinded.  Beyond that, 50% of surpluses will be used to incrimentally reduce taxes on businesses and investment earnings to level at their fifty (50) year lows.  This will spur investment, innovation, and expansion.  Going forward, expenditures within the government should increase and decrease strictly according to and parallel with fluctuations in GDP.  If emergency borrowing is in order, the 2% tax will be reinstated until the debt is repaid.  'American Dreams Dividends' will be paid to individual taxpayers with at least 15% of surpluses.  These dividends will be distributed in an equitable manner based on each taxpayer’s portion of the total tax liability represented in Care Card surpluses.  Beyond that, 35% of surpluses will be reinvested in Care Card initiatives; deposited into the Care Card fund.


The Care Card 'Promises' SHORT LIST
THE AMERICAN CARE CARD WILL:

  

 

  

• SUBSTANTIALLY LOWER the COST of all private market medical services and health insurance coverage and it will facilitate access to these private sector services to ALL Americans who cannot provide their own without assistance,

• END FRAUD and WASTE within MEDICARE AND MEDICAID,

• CREATE MILLIONS of new private sector JOBS,

• Create BUDGET SURPLUSES for our local, state, and federal governments,

• STRENGTHEN our UNIVERSITIES and our MEDICAL, LEGAL, and FINANCIAL services sectors and,

• It will LESSEN THE BURDENS on our COURTS and PENAL SYSTEMS. 
   

 

Extolling the virtues of the American Care Card
Investment Initiatives
(under construction)
  

 

 

The Care Card is the mechanism by which ALL Americans may have the access to and the ability to continue their education, go to the doctor, seek help with taxes, transportation, child care, shelter, food-stuffs, marriage counseling, court fines, extended unemployment benefits, and a plethora of other initiatives designed to help Americans get back onto their feet, get through a difficult time, and become a productive and more supportive facet of a great American society.  

PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY / ACCOUNTABILITY

An "able-bodied" Care Card participant who is working a minimum of 25 hours per week may be financially eligible to use their Care Card to continue their education.  Those who have been gainfully employed fulltime for a minimum of one year will be automatically eligible to receive financing for certain dental work beyond that which is "medically necessary" or to have tax arrears and child support arrears applied to their Care Card.  They may also qualify for "alternative" medical therapies and procedures.  Basically, any investment initiative, within reason, is approvable if it will meets the Care Card's main objectives.  It will be the responsibility of the beneficiary of the initiatives to communicate weekly with their assigned HHS representative in order to maintain eligability.

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 

The Department of Health and Human Services will be responsible for the Administration of the Care Card Program.  All tax-payer funded assistance programs will be administered through the assignment of a Care Card to the benefitciary of each program.  The The Care Card holder’s personal assigned HHS representative will determine the spending limits for each benefit depending on the needs of each beneficiary.  Having one Care Card administrator for all benefits will provide the government and administrator with the personal information that is necessary to understand each participant’s individual circumstance and each case worker's ability to create favorable results.  It can provide vital case study information needed to create more successful plans of action; plans that ultimately result in a participant being removed from all public assistance programs.

HEALTH INSURANCE

 

Within 15 days of any Care Card holder’s first 'non-routine' medical procedure, the Care Card holder will be required to choose a health insurance plan from a list of private 'Care Card approved' health insurance providers.  All plans will have $10K deductibles and all have no co-pays.  The deductible amount represents the federally guaranteed low interest bank finance portion of the participant’s medical expense (up to 10K each 12 months).  A participant will not be required to communicate gender or health condition and mature Americans will only be grouped into a single 45+ age category; all others into the "under 45" category.  The chosen insurance provider will be required to provide care beyond the deductible amount.  This care will be without limit within reasonable medical necessity as determined by an equally represented panel consisting of 'consumers, medical professionals, and insurance industry representatives'.  This panel will also determine the list of 'routine' procedures.  Care Card finance provision will be given to ALL alternative therapies that are deemed cost-effective by the panel.
    

PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS
 

 

A Care Card holder’s personal identity and personal information will not be known by any private market Care Card provider prior to the selection of their services or products and insurance premiums cannot default because they are paid directly from The Care Card Fund.  Anyone who is 'un-insurable' through the private market place will be automaticaly eligible for financing through the c]Care Card programs.  An insurance company's prices are not set by any force outside; only the forces of the market within the Care Card internet portals exist.  They, like all other Care Card product and service providers within the portals are free to compete and determine individually through their actuaries what price points are both profitable and competitive.  Only the web portal template is regulated and only accredited Care Card registered providers may list within these private market websites.

 

'The Care Card Fund' is funded each quarter through participant payroll deductions, and yearly through each government’s normal entitlement budget allocations (local, state and federal) and will increase or decrease each year according each district government’s gross product.  Additionally, a 2% nationwide sales tax will be levied for this purpose.  All payments into the Care Card fund by beneficiaries will be disbursed by the IRS on an annual basis in the following manner.  15% will go to each of the municipalities that funded the entitlements represented on the participants paid balance (% of Equity).  The government entities will then distribute these 'earnings' to the taxpayers according to each taxpayer’s burden as it relates to the total.  These rebates will be referred to as “American Dreams Dividends”.  30% will be deposited into the Care Card Fund.  5% will be paid as incentive commissions to the participant's HHS representative.  The remaining 50% will be leveraged against federal, state, and local income, corporate, and investment earnings taxes, incrementally decreasing those burdens until such time as they represent a 50 year low; 20%, 10%, and 20% respectfully.  

 

All approved private enterprise that accepts The American Care Card as payment for services must be represented in at least one of these Care Card websites.  They will compete fairly for the business of Care Card holders in an organized, regulated, and equitable manner.  The websites will derive their income through listing fees that they determine and through advertising by embedding ads in the side-panels of each web page.  Because it is a 'free market' that promotes prosperity best, both Care Card providers and those businesses outside the system will be allowed to list in these exchanges.  No outside entity will determine these fees; the free market will.

Customer service will greatly improve among participating providers because of the ease at which a Care Card beneficiary is able to score, submit, and review feedback left by others who used each provider’s services.  While shopping, a participant need only 'click' to do so.  The regulated format will include certain 'clickable' items with each provider entry.  i.e.:  How long the provider has been approved for Care Card participants,  an average satisfaction rating, the number of Care Card clients served, and the average annual increase or decrease in the price of the product or service being advertised.

Charitable giving will also be organized through Care Card accounts.  Orphans, cancer patients, young families, homeless persons, or anyone who is struggling may receive donations to their Care Card accounts via payment portals provided by the HHS.  Those wanting to be considered need only contact their HHS representative.  If approved, the participant would create their on-line profile to tell their story.  Concerned private or corporate sponsors will be able to donate at will or on a schedule, see pictures, and transmit communications of praise and support.  Likewise, the beneficiary of the sponsor can respond with updates on progress and gratefulness.  Giving will have a real and tangible personal effect on everyone involved; mentoring by successful people can have a profound impact on a struggling person’s life.

 

 

 

Public Service Announcements (PSA) will encourage, inspire, and motivate Care Card holders to use the Care Card resources to enrich their lives.  “PASS THE TORCH”, “PAY IT FORWARD”, “BUILDING A BRIGHTER TOMORROW”, “JUST DO IT”, and “1 PART INSPRIATION, 10 PARTS SWEAT” come to mind as messages that might convey the Care Card’s stated goals.

 

 

Community service opportunities will be provided for persons carrying a balance on their Care Card.  Additionally, a person or company could 'sponsor' a person who wanted to pay down his or her Care Card balance through community service by 'contributing' that person's 'working hour' value.  The Care Card holder would contact a Care Card representative at their local Department of Labor to see what community service opportunities exist.  In the year 2010, a participant might choose to work part-time for the 2010 Census to pay down their existing balance or he or she might choose to collect trash inside a public park.  There will be many opportunities in every community that would result in a net savings to local tax coffers.
Inspired through communications with Columnist: Diane Grassi

 

The private websites that Care Card holders use to shop for approved products and services will convey important messages; links to websites that inform Care Card holders about healthy habits that the HHS wants to promote. Monthly statements will also incorporate 'Automatic Health Reminders' for preventative care measures that the Surgeon General has deemed advisable.
Inspired through communications with an Assistant to the Surgeon General (Anonymous)

Medicaid and Medicare participants will be provided with seemless and complete access to medical care through their personally assigned Care Cards.  Medicare participants will be provided annual Care Card credits intended to match their region's average annual Medicare benefit.  These credits and the Medicare payroll tax will reduce incrementally over a period of 30 years in order to facilitate the adjourning of the Medicare program.  All medical expenses beyond this credit and under the annual 10K health insurance deductible amount will apply as a charge to the participant's Care Card.   The Medicaid program will cease to exist since the Care Card provides coverage without the need for further taxpayer subsidies. 

There will be a dramatic drop in the fraud and waste associated with both MEDICARE AND MEDICAID simply because each and every Care Card charge is itemized on a statement assigned to a taxpayer I.D. or Social Security number (the Care Card holders).  Care Card holders are the owners of their accounts and they will be monitoring their balances through their monthly, printed or on-line, statements.  A Care Card holder is concerned about the balance and will report discrepancies to their chosen bank's Care Card customer service department.  Why?  Because he or she is the only person ultimately and legally responsible for that balance.

DOCTORS

Under the American Care Card system, DOCTORS RECEIVE IMMEDIATE PAYMENTS AND FAIR MARKET RATES FOR SERVICES RENDERED unlike Medicare and Medicaid which unfairly inflate the medical procedure rates for the general public.  Approved medical devices and prescription drugs are also shopped on the very same websites.  A doctor or dentist who is opening a new practice will find inclusion in the Care Card system very enticing.  He or she will be able to price their procedures in such a way as to list them at the very top of a 'search' conducted by a Care Card participant requiring services.  It will be possible for a new practice to 'fill the house' fairly quickly with alluring prices. 

EDUCATING MORE DOCTORS

We have a dire emergency that is hand in hand with the adoption of a state-wide or national health care system.  We won't have enough GP's and specialists trained to address our health care needs.  In response, the HHS will administer 'Care Card credit vouchers' for upto 40,000+ medical professionals in the coming decade.  A $1,000 to $3,000 Care Card 'credit line' will be available each year for students that are enrolled fulltime in medical technology curriculums.  The financial requirements for these lines of credit will be reduced substantially.

SMART CARD TECHNOLOGY

The Care Card programs’ use of 'Smart Card' technology will make registry of a new patient seamless, prescription filling more accurate, and it will allow those being provided with care the ability to easily switch doctors for the purpose of savings.  Read what an expert who communicated with me has to say about 'Smart Card' technologies.

Stephen T. Parente, PhD
The Medical Industry Leadership Institute
Academic Director
 
Wrote at:  http://www.palgrave-journals.com/be/journal/v44/n1/abs/be2008102a.html

 

 

A doctors’ need for an extensive staffing for admissions, Medicaid, Medicare, and insurance billing and collections is almost negated and these cost-cutting benefits along with the need to price each procedure competitively on-line will save Care Card beneficiaries substantially.  Doctors will also be able to instantly lower their procedure pricing through their personal web accessible 'control panels' to fill appointment vacancies and fill typically 'slow' traffic hours. 

 

LIFE INSURANCE
 

Care Card holders will be required to purchase, as a Care Card investment initiative, Life insurance policies in excess of their Care Card balances when the Care Card balance is above $30K.  These policies will provide the dependents of a Care Card participant with the security they need when their family’s 'provider' passes away and the policies will also provide the tax base with some level of security for the 'investments' they made in the participant.  The policy will be chosen from the very same website that was used to shop and purchase Care Card approved health insurance.

PRIMARY EDUCATION STUDENTS

In the Care Card world, each child is issued a Care Card until the age of 18.  The card of each child is credited each year with a determined amount depending on the county they live in.  The parents of that child can use that credit through the Care Card Administrator to pay for that child's ciriculum.  It's up to the parents which school he attends.  To an extent, it's up to the parents of that child which teacher he or she is a student of. 

PRIMARY EDUCATION SCHOOLS 
 
While school properties will remain the property of each county they reside in, the management and maintenance will be awarded through standard bidding processes.  Tests will be standardized in each state, but the processes of curicullum will be determined by the education management companies that own the school's 6-year management contract.   They will have the right to market their teachers and their management qualities to all of that states parents.  A home schooling parent will be required to purchase the ability to follow the curriculum of an appropriate teacher for their child through on-line web-cam enabled classroom interactions.  There will be no regulation of the fees that a management company may charge for these services.  Any costs for services that are  applied first as a charge that student's Care Card.   Cost overruns are distributed between the gardians and / or biological parents Care Cards equitably if payment cannot be attained through private sources.

TEACHERS

Teachers will be free agents like professional athletes.  They may chose to be represented by any agent not excluding union agency representation.  They are free to be packaged with other teachers if they so choose though it might hamper their ability to be placed into lucrative contract agreements.  The better a teacher performs, the better her contract offerings.  The rate charged for a physical placement in a teacher's classroom will be determined by the market demand for that teacher.  All teachers will be marketed through their contract holder on at least one Care Card on-line exchange. 

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
 

 

Illegal immigrants will be required the assignment of an American Care Card if they wish to benefit from any entitlement benefit.  An illegal immigrant must be registered with the IRS (under an assigned taxpayer I.D. number).  They must also be current with tax filings and have their biometric information recorded.  Even the costs associated with the collection of biometrics and the issuance of the card will be attached as a balance on the immigrants Care Card.  Repayment of benefits through payroll deductions will be double (20-30%) the rate of a lawful citizen (10-15%). Undocumented aliens will not be allowed to benefit from educational initiatives nor will they receive amnesty.  Each state's laws regarding aliens will, of course, remain intact.  The Care Card is simply the mechanism by which the taxpaying citizens  in any given municipality will be able safeguard their limited resources.  It will require that these illegal immigrants take personal ownership of the burdens they place on the citizenry.  The Care Card will also serve ciitzens by requiring a record of the illegal population and compiling all of this new data will prove quite invaluable.  Each approved medical provider will have a staff member who has trained online with the HHS for the purposes of facilitating the assignment of a patient’s Care Card and the HHS will have a call center dedicated to support this function nationwide.

COURTS AND INCARCERATIONS

The costs of incarcerations, court-appointed attorneys, and court costs for a guilty defendant will apply as a charge to that persons Care Card.  A successful appeal will result in a credit of the same amount.  The American Care Card will provide the mechanism by which the federal, state, and local governments can recoup almost $360 billion in tax expenditures due to the costs of courts, criminal justice, and incarceration.  When possible, opportunities should be provided to inmates to pay down their Care Card balances through 'work', under supervision, at a legally fair and just 'minimum wage'.  Also, tax and child support payment arrears will apply as a Care Card balance so that the incarceration facilities and the taxpayers that fund them can benefit from their absence in them.  It does no public good and certainly no good to the estranged family of a well-intentioned father to do so.  Also, a person without income who has been charged with a crime would normally only have the option of accepting a court's appointed attorney.  With the Care Card, the alleged offender has the ability to choose an attorney from one of the online exchanges.
Inspired by a conversation with Mrs. Schmitt of Rhode Island

 

 

HOSPITALS

 

State-owned Hosital properties will be managed by private administration bidded contrants awarded by each municipality they reside in according to their agreements.  Contracts for administration will be awarded for a period of 6 years each.  Hospitals will no longer have to be subsidized by state governments due to indigent care; there will be no such thing as an indigent patient in a Care Card enabled health care environment.  As a result, hospitals will be profitable and emergency rooms will be free to provide care quickly to those with serious injuries.

PRIVATELY FUNDED / PUBLICLY FUNDED ENTITLEMENTS

All entitlements not currently funded by its beneficiaries will be absorbed into the Care Card investment system; from Food Stamps, Welfare and Section 8 housing to costs of incarceration and medical care for those without insurance.  Beneficiary-funded entitlements such as Unemployment Insurance and Social Security will fazed out over a 20 year period.  This will, over time, lessen the burdens on private enterprise and spur growth and investment by the private sector.

 

 

In order to survive scrutiny, ALL tax deductions and credits except for charitable tax deductions will cease for all persons.  Tax deductions for corporations will, of course, remain.  We all know that corporations never have paid taxes and that any tax increase for corporations results in higher consumer prices; not helpful or fair to lower and middle income folk.  Earned Income Credits (E.I.C.), dependent credits, and home-owner mortgage interest tax deductions will cease to exist at inception.  Those who would normally qualify for these types of credits and deductions will accumulate standing credit lines equal to their net tax benefit.  They may financially qualify for the release of funds aquired for purposes that their Care Card agent deems benefitial to the health of our society and the tax-payers that afforded the deductions.  It might be that a single mother or a couple that is working diligently toward a bright future needs to replace their tired family car.  The Agent might decide to release some of the accumulated credit line funds for that purpose.  

“The American Dream Investment Dividends” initiative will be created in each state where the Care Card program exists.  Only those with net income-tax liabilities will be eligible to earn these dividends.  The amount will be relative to their portion of individual public tax burden and the total tax surplus “The American Care Card Initiative” facilitates in the governments they paid taxes to.

New rules for our new Care Card enabled world

Going forward, we will have to set up a couple of very important rules in order to keep our society's current fiscal problems from resurfacing.   Fundamental changes in governance to insure that 'our' government conducts its business in a manner that is beneficial to its taxpayers, its people, and to the businesses that employ its people.

1)  A Care Card must always be the source of funding when any single person wishes to benefit from the general public's tax dollars.  As a result, no one will ever again be allowed a tax benefit by simply financing a house, having a child or earning a substandard living.  In each of these instances, one group benefited at the expense of another.   It is not fair to folks who didn't have a child, decided to rent an apartment, or made a conscience decision to do the work necessary to earn a living that supported themselves.  Aside from being fair, this rule is also necessary to ensure that elected officials will no longer have the ability to unfairly 'redistribute' earned tax dollars to garner votes that will ultimately 'hurt' the very source of those tax dollars.  Only 'lines of credit', administered through a Care Card, will be permitted.   A person who was getting an EIC or a mortgage tax credit under the old system could automatically qualify for a Care Card Credit Line (CCCL).

 

2)  No government entity (health services, educational, or otherwise) shall be allowed to compete with a private sector entity within the Care Card's online exchanges while receiving government subsidies or while being operated and managed through public sector positions.  It is a disservice to America's private market entrepreneurs in any sector to require them to compete with a company that doesn't have a need to profit and, most distressing to taxpayers, has the ability to offset any losses and mismanagement with taxpayer's funds.  This practice represents a complete disregard of what should have been the intention of US anti-trust laws.  Why would we protect consumers, but not protect taxpayers.  Likewise, all government owned health clinics must turn management over to private sector health services management companies in order to offer services through the Care Card program.  In our new Care Card world, there are no such things as free services, so the management companies would be expected to return a profit to taxpayers.

3)  If we truly expect our governors to admire and respect how their constituents depend on a vibrant free market economy, we must compensate them in a manner consistent with that ideology.  For that reason, compensation for government sector workers will strictly mirror the private sector 'average', including its relevance to pensions and benefits.  Compensation for executive positions within the government sector will reflect their performance in creating jobs and wealth in the district or region they oversee.  It should be relative to such things as annual growth in GDP, government expenditures, and Care Card surpluses.  In short, it should mirror an average of the executive compensations within the private sector they oversee.  ie: the President of the United States will be paid a tidy sum if the economy he directs does well.  Just as it is true of the private sector, fair compensation will encourage participation by the brightest members of our electorate.  It will also act as a deterrent to the practice of cronyism and the creation of insignificant positions with compensation packages that are not reflective of the private sector.  It will ensure that our elected officials are not easily swayed by entities that do not share the interests of constituents and their general economic welfare.  As a result, our elected officials will closely study a policy's economic impact before choosing to support it. 


4)  No law may 'forgive' Care Card balances or contradict the intent of these conditions.  By executive order or otherwise, no government body shall have the right to forgive Care Card repayment of or to allocate taxpayer dollars to a select person or group of people outside of the Care Card system without a 3/4 majority in the house and senate; a constitutional amendment is required.  This majority will be necessary to ensure that any forgiveness or allocation is representative of the will of the people.

 
Getting the Facts Straight:
The State of Health Care in the States

 

While quite a few folks these days are thinking we should pay our doctors and professors less and drive the insurance companies out of business, I think we should all consider the solutions that the private market and a little ingenuity can offer.  We don't want to drive away the world's finest doctors and professors like Europe has and we certainly don't want to have to continue subsidizing our universities and inner city hospitals.  The Care Card will make our nation's health care professions more desirable by putting the business decisions back into the hands of the professionals.  That way, they can concentrate more on the important work they do.

I'd like to take a moment on the subject of health care to pose a few questions.  Let me preface by first pointing to the recent trend by folks to quickly shun the health insurance industry and also claim that our health care system is substandard.  In fact, it's become so popular and acceptable that even malpractice attorneys have gotten in on it.  Here are just a few facts that everyone should be aware of before deciding to join in.

  

 

• Our health insurance industry as a whole has an average profit margin of 2-4%.  There are very few private for-profit enterprises in America that operate that way intentionally.  And, regardless of what most think, pharmaceutical companies profit about 17 cents  on each dollar of revenue.
• www.forbes.com has a list of America's top CEO Compensations.  You'll find that even though the health services sector makes up 17% of our nation's economy, there are only 2 insurance company CEO's listed in the top 80 spots.  Logic would have it that there should be around 14 named there.  I can't find any pharmaceutical company CEOs listed in the top 100.  Looks more like a who's who of successful American industry.
• Medicare and Medicaid deny almost twice as many claims as all private insurance companies combined.
• America's superiority in medical technologies is best reflected in the fact that our top four medical universities file more patents for medical technologies than all other universities of the world combined.  
• Some would have you believe that since our collective expenditure on health care is almost 16% of GDP,  that we are somehow less effective than European countries where the average is 8%.  Unlike European countries, over half of our 16% is GDP.  It represents the perpetual 'creation' of products and services that compound because of profits.  In Europe, the majority of their expenditure is simply 'expenditure'.  Almost every Euro spent on health care by the European government is simply spent.  Those Euros don't produce a product or a profit and therefore don't compound.   Canadians, through their governments for instance, "spend" more per capita when the real figures are uncovered.   It is 'in spite' of Medicare and Medicaid, we are able to contain our costs and fund our research and development.  Why do you think it is that over 3/4's of the medical technologies that exist in the world today were developed here in the US?  Fact is, if we allow our government to take over even more of the sector, we'll further exacerbate all the problems we are currently attempting to 'fix'.  Costs will go up more quickly just as it has in Europe and Canada and, most importantly, our superiority in this sector will fade into the past.  We need to return to a purely free market in order to contain costs.
• Almost all countries that care for their citizens through socialized health care systems have wait times of many months to have a surgery, see a specialist, or get an MRI.  But, if you have a cold or a broken bone, they work pretty well.  In the U.K., its common place for a new dental clinic in the city to have a line out the door and around the block on its first day; these folks are hoping to get onto the dentist's waiting list before he or she closes it to new patients.  They also have to contend with budget cuts on a regular basis in order to fund their government's bankrupt socialized health services programs.  People are left to suffer from cuts in services that we would find appalling.  Socialized health care would also greatly affect our ability as a nation to defend ourselves militarily.  The socialized health care systems that exist in almost all european countries are the primary reason they must look to the US to police their regions.  They simply can't afford a substantial military.
• Our cancer cure rates are almost 500% better than that of Germany or France.  So immense is the disparity of cancer and stroke survival, that almost 400,000 additional American's would die each year if our survival numbers were like theirs.
• Europe's average doctor makes only half of the salary of the American standard.  Whenever someone brings up the costs of health care "per capita", tell them that it's just not fair to make that comparison.  Not when there is such a disparity in income levels.  Likewise, do we really want to lower the bar that far?  If we did, we would also have to be prepared for the devaluation of every other profession.  By the same scale, a college professor with a doctorate should make around 40K; an accountant? 20K.  Everyone would make much less.  We should instead appreciate that fact that America attracts the finest scientists, engineers, doctors, and professors from all over the world.  Do we really want to give that up in order to be like Europeans? 
• Massachusetts was the only state in the union that already had a universal health care system in place.  Those citizens enjoy the highest average wait time AND the highest average family health insurance premium in the country.  We don't really need to question why SEIU's top lobbyist has had so much face time with the president in the oval office and was even given such a powerful position within the administration.  It's interesting though that SEIU is also ranked in the top 10 of all-time political contributers.  Maybe that's why they service over 80% of the Massachusett's medical administration system contracts. 
• Our health care costs per capita as a percentage have risen right in line with that of our European counterparts and even Canada's.  While ours rose 75% between 1995 and 2005, it rose 100% in the UK during the same period. 
• Why is it that the World Health Organization (WHO) allows European countries to submit data that is so skewed when compared to ours without pointing it out?  Why don't European countries count children under the age of 3 months in their "Infant Mortality Index"?   These reporting practices change the actual results by almost 80%.  Why is it that the WHO doesn't factor out homicide, death from automobile accidents, or disparities in diabetic causes in their "preventable cause of death" stats?  Our rates are 5 times higher for most of these causes and they are personal choice conditions more than they are a reflection of the quality of our health care system.  When adjusting for these factors, the United States is near the top of the list for “longevity of life”.  The ruse is likely designed to help voters in Europe feel better about the fact that their tax rates are 20% to 60% what ours are.  They've been told that the abysmal care they get is the going standard and they're astonished when they find out we don't have to wait for months for almost anything regarding specialized care.  Likewise, they sapped all the financial motivation out of their health care systems and wonder why they don't have access to all of the latest technologies and brightest professionals.  When compared to European countries, we have far more access  to MRIs and CAT Scans; normally by a factor of 350%.  Maybe that's just one of the reasons why a premier of a Canadian province decided to fly into Florida to get his heart surgery just last week. 
  Enough about health care.

 

Keeping our private sector strong
and our innovation cutting edge
Requires Change NOW

Weighing heavy on most folks minds these days are jobs and according to many respected economists, we, as Americans, are currently on a fiscal course of tax and spend that will deliver the untimely demise of the America we thought would be our children’s.  We all know that the last thing our economy needs right now is another massive burden on taxpayers or more debt; both of which result in higher lending rates, business closures, and lay-offs.

According to the economists, we're in the middle of a perfect storm.  If we only had to contend with the banking crisis which was actually brought on by massive injections of socialism into our free market home mortgage system, we could find our way clear.

But, there is something much more massive pressing down on our society.

If we combined our local, state, and federal "entitlement" expenditures, it would represent our nation's largest single expense.  This behemoth weighs in at 3.2 trillion dollars each year.  That's what it costs for us to take care of each other and the borrowing that we're doing to fund it is adding to that monster's waistline; it's getting larger each and every year.  Problem is, our entitlement process can't be put on a diet and our political process is feeding the entitlement monster.  These days we're seeing trends toward budget cuts that will only worsen each year.  Soon, most of the public assistance programs people have relied on in days past will cease to exist altogether and economists report that the senate health care bills passage will greatly exacerbate our country's already dire entitlement funding issues.

The Care Card Initiative is centered on the perpetual sustainment and regeneration of most of the funds that we set aside each year to take care of each other.  The Care Card in essence replaces what we've always referred to as "Entitlement Benefits" (Medicaid... Food Stamps... etc.) with what will become known as “Investment Initiatives”.    In fact, any entitlement law that our elected representatives have created in years past and "will create" in the years that follow will fall under the authority of the HHS "Care Card" Benefits Administration Department.  Through the Care Card Initiative, the tax money that is allocated each year to fund these entitlements will eventually lead back to the taxpayers that funded them in the form of "American Dreams Dividends".   The Care Card is essentially the machine that "recycles" the funds.  Under this system, our tax dollars compound and the benefits they produce for our society multiply.

The Care Card will be the great protector of the taxpayer and the free market.  It will change everything about the dynamic between the taxpayer who helps the entitlement beneficiary and the government who administers that help.  It will basically render our elected officials "harmless" to the taxpayers and, it will deliver our America into an unmatched era of prosperity and social justice.
  
Americans give more in support of others than almost all other nations on earth combined.  In fact, it’s so interlaced into our DNA, that our giving habits have amazingly overcome our fiscal ability to do so.   We are currently indebted to the tune of 12,400,000,000,000.00 dollars and we've been borrowing massive amounts of money each year just to give to the extent that we do.  In fact, representatives in Congress are amending the Constitution on a regular basis to raise the debt-ceiling just to keep pace (an increase of $1.2 trillion expected for Budget 2010).

The American Care Card Investment Initiative will allow Americans to input PROSPERITY into the place of a 47 trillion dollar mistake (10-Year / Real Market Cost) currently called “Health Care Reform Law”.  America is borrowing at an alarming rate well beyond its means (incoming tax receipts) in order to fund a never ending political thirst for entitlements.  The health care reform bill’s estimated 2.5 trillion dollar cost along with the forth-coming Social Security / Medicare insolvency will exponentially raise the Interest we pay to borrow the money we need to fund our government and its current entitlement programs.  Our national debt stands at almost 12.3 trillion dollars and is rising quickly without the reform law factored.  Taxes will go up, tax receipts will plunge, interest rates will rise, investment will fall, unemployment will rise, currency will be printed and the value of the dollar will plummet.  Likewise, Inflation will soar and public services will cease.  The fiscal course America is presently on will undoubtedly result in disintegration not unlike that of the Soviet Union in the late 1980’s.  We must all change how we care for and assist each other in times of hardship in order for our America to continue to prosper.

I would like for you to take the some time to read what other's have to say about the state of our economy and why now is the only time we have to take solid measures to shore up America's financial shortcomings.   Enjoy this selection:

www.thetrumpet.com/?q=5675.4032.0.0

 

Going forward, we need to be intelligent enough to acknowledge and appreciate the Care Card's simplicity.   We need to trust that it is possible that something so simple can be the only real sustainable solution to the inevitable conclusion of our entitlement proclivities; a broken society.



More scenarios in the Human Impact
of the American Care Card  (under construction)


Let me introduce you to four people from very different walks of life.  Each also has very different life issues and each have been impacted in very real and positive ways by The American Care Card.  While it is true that these folks don't exist in real life, the scenarios their fictitious lives provide us will give you insight about how the Care Card Initiative can have very profound practical applications in your "very real World."

Meet Carly.  Carly is 21 years old and has a daughter named Katie.  Katie was diagnosed with Autism when she was 5 years of age. (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

Meet Samuel.  Samuel is 23 and has been serving time in Prison for an armed Robbery he committed when he was 16.  (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

Meet Leslie.  Leslie is 48 and has been working as a Legal Secretary for 24 years.  Her employer of 11 years will retire next month.  It gets worse.  Seven years ago, she was diagnosed with Cancer.  She takes a regiment of medications that are pretty expensive and quite frankly, make her feel rotten.  Recently, she's been doing some research on-line about her condition.  (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

Meet Charlene.  Charlene has three children ages 4, 6, and 7.  She receives assistance from her state for Section 8 Housing and she receives Food Stamps.  The Care Card Program just went into effect in her area a couple of months ago.  She received a phone call from a lady named Toni last month; Toni is her Care Card Benefits Administrator.  They've been talking on occasion over the phone.  (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)


Reviewing the BENEFITS
The Care Card benefits Americans
(under construction)

The Care Card will provide the mechanism by which able Americans will pay for the public services they consume. 

 

Care Card holders may be eligible for a number of initiatives to include:

Health and life insurance, medical care, continued education, housing assistance, marriage and dietary counseling, drug and criminal rehabilitation, tax preparation, court and fine costs for non-violent offenders, restitutions, dentistry, chiropractic and alternative medicines and therapies, child care (including child support arrears, head start tutoring and school nutrition initiatives), prescriptions, legal assistance, bail or bonds and probationary fees for non-violent offenders, transportation, used clothing purchase allocations, federal and state tax arrears, shelter, food-stuffs, and extended unemployment initiatives or cash assistance as ‘earned income credit lines’(EIC.L).

Care Cards have a Visa or Master Card logo and can have approved amounts “unlocked” by the administrator in order to pay approved initiatives.  Care Card holders will be required to pay back the released funds with interest through small payroll deductions or through quarterly filings.  No credit check will be necessary and qualifying for assistance is as easy as picking up the phone and calling 800-Care-Card; the caller will be connected with someone at the Care Card Division of the Department of Health and Human Services who can help with the process.
 

Payments will not ever be required while the participant has no source of income.
 

Care Card payments for those with income will be 10% of their net income and payments are easy because they are deducted directly from the card holder’s payroll checks.  One exception is made for illegal immigrants; repayment exists at double the rate of legal citizens.  When an unpaid balance exists at any amount over 15K, the repayment is fixed at 15% of net income.
 

Care Card issuance is only required for persons benefiting from a taxpayer funded program (food stamps, section 8 housing, health insurance, incarceration, emergency care).  The Care Card will not affect existing beneficiary and employer funded programs such as Social Security and workers’ disability compensation insurance. 

Every Care Card holder will be assigned a personal benefits administrator.  The assigned administrator will be available via phone 5 days a week during business hours.  Only one initial application process will be necessary to be eligible for initiatives.  Beyond that, the personal administrator will only require occasional updates.
 

Card holders who are not able-bodied will be automatically eligible for all care card initiatives.  All card holders who have limited phyisical ability will be automatically eligible for educational initiatives that provide the training necessary for job placement.
 

Card holders who maintain fulltime employment will be eligible for all initiatives that cannot reasonably be afforded.  Those who are employed part time will be eligible for initiatives including educational development and any care required for the children of a beneficiary.  Other initiatives may be approved if they are deemed helpful to taxpayers by that person’s benefits administrator.
 

Card holders who are attending school and maintain part time employment are automatically eligible for all initiatives that cannot reasonably be afforded.

The children of card holders will be automatically eligible for head start, tutoring, and school nutrition initiatives.  Those children will also be considered for a multitude of initiatives deemed necessary to provide for their needs including, but not limited to: school supplies and clothing.  The costs of these initiatives will apply as a balance on the parent(s) Care Card account(s) equally between biological parents.
 

Persons needing emergency medical care will be legally required to provide immediate payment for services or be legally required to enroll within the Care Card program.  Our hospital systems cannot otherwise operate effectively.  Biometric information will be gathered and submitted to the Care Card Administration for this purpose.  All medical care for indigent persons is paid directly from the Care Card Master Fund on behalf of the new enrollee.
 

The Care Card participant will be able to choose, and even switch at will, which financial institution issues their monthly Care Card statements and fields billing discrepancies.  Additionally, these banks will be held to high standards in customer care due to the ability of card holders to easily grade, post, and review comments through the online exchanges they use to shop competitors.

Care Card charges accrue low interest rates equivalent to ‘Prime + 1%’.  These rates are normally only available to home-buyers with excellent credit scores.

Every Care Card holder is eligible to choose health and life insurance policies that ‘lock in’ premiums for a chosen number of years.  Card holders can change life insurance companies before the contract expires because of customer service issues by simply calling their HHS representative and filing a complaint.  They may then choose from any comparably priced and fitted plan available in the online exchange.

Care Card insurance providers are not privy to any knowledge regarding the gender, health condition, or specific age of a card holder prior to having one of their available plans chosen and ‘locked in’ by a card holder.  Care Card holders will also be able to benefit from being part of the single largest pool of available customers in the country and by being a potential customer of over 12,000 competing insurance companies.  Because policy costs are charged to individual Care Card accounts, all policies are priced for individuals; there are no 'family' plans available.  This will also act to stop the practice of defraying the costs of 'family' plans onto individuals.

Participating insurance providers are not allowed to deny claims, raise rates, or ‘drop’ a participant until the chosen plan has expired.  Coverage descriptions are simple and easy to understand.  Care holders can get discounts by ‘clicking’ to opt out of some approved mandates also.  There are only two age categories:  ‘45+’ and ‘under 45’.  Just as is true with every other private market Care Card provider, card holders will be able to easily grade, post, review, and submit comments through the online exchanges they use to shop.

Card holders will have a multitude of options with a range of insurance premium amounts.  All plans will have deductibles ranging from 2K to 10K per 12 month period.  These deductibles represent the amount of medical dollars that can be spent per year before the chosen insurance company is required to pay the remainder.  All medical expenses within the deductible amount are charged onto the patient’s Care Card.  Very low premiums would typically exist for insurance plans that have high deductibles and short term periods.

Care Card participants are not required to choose and maintain health insurance unless one of two conditions is true: 

1.) The Care Card has been used to finance a medical procedure that is not considered ‘routine’ or…
2.)  The Care Card’s unpaid balance exceeds 20K.
  
Under these circumstances, a participant will have the option of personal choice and will not be limited within the selection available to all in any one of the available online Care Card exchanges.  Two weeks will be provided for the purpose of personal selection.  Beyond that time, they will have the benefit of the automatic system selection of the provider who has the lowest price available at the highest deductible (the provider listed at the top of the online search).
  

The American Care Card will expound the benefits of the free market through the competition that exists in the online exchanges.  All Care Card holders will have the ability to shop for the best prices available for a multitude of products and services.  These private sector businesses will compete with each other for the business of each and every Card holder.  The provider with the lowest price will always populate the top of a potential customer’s listing and that’s where every provider wants their product or service to be.  The experience will be very similar to what is typical to ‘e-bay’ and ‘Expedia’.
 

Care Card holders will not be required to purchase and maintain life insurance coverage through the online exchange unless their Care Card’s unpaid balance exceeds 30K.  This coverage must cover Care Card liabilities and additional amounts may also be purchased to provide asset protection and monetary assistance for loved ones.

Non-violent offenders will have the option of remaining free on bail or bond by choosing to be issued a Care Card.  Unpaid court fines, bail or bond amounts, restitutions, and probationary fees will automatically reflect as a balance on the offender’s Care Card account.

The families of non-violent offenders will benefit from the absence the financial strain that these incarcerations present.  Municipal jail and court systems will benefit from no longer being burdened with the costs of unnecessary incarcerations and court proceedings.

Care Card holders who stand accused of offenses may choose an attorney from the online exchange if assistance is required and may also benefit from the assistance the Care Card can provide in the rehabilitation process.

 

Care Cards benefit the Financial Services

and Insurance Industries

(under construction) 

The members of the financial services industry that are approved as Care Card providers will write a staggering amount of new federally-guaranteed, 12-month deferred, low interest loans and this will strengthen balance sheets.  They will provide customer service and monthly statements and will be able to dictate the amount charged monthly to provide these services.
 
Heath insurance companies will write a staggering amount of new high-deductible medical health insurance plans that have very little short-term liability.

No government entity will have the right to interfere in the pricing of plans beyond the enforcement of anti-trust laws.  Health insurance companies will be free to profit to the extent that the competition within the exchanges allow.

Insurance companies that are approved to compete in the online exchanges will only be required to abide by the formatting of plans offered so that they conform to the Care Card provider doctrines.

There will be no 'family' plan offerings.  All insurance quotes are for individuals.  Also, all insurance plan options are term plans.    Insurance companies within the Care Card exchanges will have the distinct ability to price term plans that are 'contractually obligatory'.  Plan premiums are paid directly from the Care Card master fund and, as a result, never default; contractual terms are always fulfilled.

Operational costs will be dramatically lower due to a number of factors:  High deductible plans, guaranteed premium payments through the Care Card fund, contractually obligatory term plan payments, only one point of contact for all claims.

One of the Care Card's stated objectives is to create lower premium costs for everyone.  To these ends, the Care Card administration will enforce automatic enrollment under certain conditions.  They are:

Health insurance coverage is required when a Care Card holder requests funding for a 'non-routine' medical procedure or has an unpaid Care Card balance of 20K or more.

Health insurance coverage is required for everyone who is over the age of 45 with an unpaid Care Card balance.

Life insurance coverage is required when a Care Card holder has an unpaid Care Card balance of 30K or more.  The required coverage amount must cover their Care Card liabilities and a minimum of 20K for each dependent.   As this unpaid balance increases, so must the coverage amount.


Care Cards benefit the Medical
Establishment and the University Systems
(under construction)

Under the American Care Card system, doctors receive immediate payments and fair market rates for services rendered unlike Medicare and Medicaid which unfairly inflate the medical procedure rates for the general public.  Approved medical devices and prescription drugs are also shopped on the very same websites.  A doctor or dentist who is opening a new practice will find inclusion in the Care Card system very enticing.  He or she will be able to price their procedures in such a way as to list them at the very top of a "Search" conducted by a Care Card participant requiring services.  It will be possible for a new practice to "Fill the House" fairly quickly with alluring prices.

A doctor or institution will have the sole discretion of procedure pricing; government panels will no longer dictate reimbursement rates.  Anti-trust laws will be in full effect; no formal or informal agreement may be made between doctors and / or medical establishments regarding pricing.

Universities and colleges will enjoy a massive influx of students due to the Care Card program.  With few restrictions, most Care Card participants will automatically qualify for the use of their Care Card in order to finance educational development.  They will get the best values in the open market represented in the online Care Card exchanges because Care Card participating community colleges and universities must compete against each other in them.  They will have the ability set prices for each semester of curriculum in order to attract Care Card students.  They will also have the ability to price each professor separately in this open market according to the demand for his or her style and expertise.  This will allow institutions to attract, afford, and retain the best available.  Professors as well as doctors, nurse practitioners, psychiatrists, and the like will be able to offer services over the phone and through virtual meetings over the internet.  The Care Card will make such encounters common place and it will compound benefits including such things as income potential and cost-effective accessibility for patients or students.

Under the American Care Card entitlement procurement system, Medicare and Medicaid will cease to exist.  Likewise, the expense associated with filing for Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements will cease.  Over 90% of all Care Card medical transactions will not require filing with private insurance.  This is due to the fact that all Care Card health insurance plans have high deductible amounts.

All medical transactions for Care Card participants require only electronic submission of the standard procedure codes representing the purchases required for the visit.  The costs of these purchases will be the costs published online by the institution at the time the appointment was secured online.  The medical establishment will only need to submit a bill electronically to through the HHS online portal.  Payment from the HHS for services will be secured within 48 hours of the transmission.   Insurance billing for any balance beyond the patient’s deductible amount will be forwarded to the appropriate insurance entity by the HHS.

Medical establishments who accept Care Card patients will no longer have use for collections departments.  An indigent patient will be issued a Care Card for payment processing.  An HHS representative will walk the patient through the process over the phone once a patient has stabilized.  Any indigent patient will be required to submit to the gathering of biometric data and the medical establishment must only have a staff member who has certified online with the HHS for this procedure.  The establishment will then be entitled to full reimbursement of charges regardless of the patient’s immigration status.

Medical establishments will be able to admit Care Card participants with ease.  Online access to a ‘writable’ medical record will be made possible through the ‘Smart Card’ that is issued to each Care Card participant.  New patient registration will be effortless and prescription writing will be seamless and error-free.  A practice should be able to reduce the cost of its malpractice insurance as a result of Care Card patients.

New medical practices that are approved for acceptance of Care Card patients will have the ability to have access to the entire pool of Care Card participants through the online portals that Care Card patients use to shop for cost-effective procedures. 

 

 

 

The ‘shopping portal’ will allow a practice to lower prices for appointment windows or for entire days.  These changes to procedure prices can be made at any time through secure online control panels.  A patient who is wishing to see a doctor will input his or her zip code, the search ‘radius’, and may also see separate pricing that might be available for specific appointment times.  The medical provider could simply reduce procedure pricing across the board or do so for specific appointment time windows.  The lowest procedure price will always populate the top of each search.
 

Emergency rooms will no longer be used for primary care by indigents.  Likewise, proper attention and care can be given to patients with serious injuries.

Previously state-subsidized hospitals will once again be profitable.

All veterans who require taxpayer funded medical care as a benefit of service will have the option of being issued a Care Card with annual credit vouchers equivalent to their level of admissible benefit.  Any balance of charges will reflect on the veterans Care Card statement.  Veteran hospitals will be able to accept patients from the private sector and veterans will be eligible to use private sector medical providers for their care.  Likewise, veteran hospitals will be required to price their procedures on the open market represented in the Care Card online exchanges.  This will insure taxpayers are getting a value when their veterans are seeking care.
 
 

Care Cards benefit the American taxpayer
(under construction)

 

The Care Card program is designed to be self sustaining with no need for additional / new taxes.  If fact, it will provide the catalyst necessary to lower payroll and corporate taxes.  The surpluses it will create will allow the national debt to be paid in full within a decade.  This will ensure low inflation, low interest rates, and low tax rates.

All funds provided by the tax base for Care Card programs will become permanent balances on the beneficiary’s Care Card statement until it is paid in full with reasonable interest.  Likewise, broad-based public initiatives will cease to overly burden a narrow tax base.

A Care Card participant carrying a balance on their card will be eligible to pay down their balance by performing community services according to his or her professional attributes.  That person would just call the unemployment office or log-in on the HHS website to choose among the available Care Card “pay-it-forward” opportunities.  These services will have a positive effect on tax coffers and will provide very flexible use of a Care Card participant’s available time.
 
Care Card participants will be required to purchase life insurance premiums necessary to cover Care Card liabilities if a balance beyond 30K exists.  A life insurance payout would cover back taxes, care card liabilities, and may prove helpful to the participant’s family.

Hundreds of thousands and likely millions of new private sector jobs and their resulting tax receipts will be created by new work force demands as a result of the Care Card and sister Care Card program initiatives.

Huge surpluses will be realized by local, state, and federal governments due to the reimbursement with reasonable interest of already funded entitlements by the beneficiaries of those entitlements.

An American Dreams Dividend can only be earned by individuals who did not carry a balance on their Care Card during the fiscal year in question.  Representatives of government will, in part, be chosen for their past ability to provide taxpayers with American Dreams Dividends.  Taxpayers who earn these dividends should proclaim it proudly just like a child on their school’s Honor Roll.

A person must be current with tax filings and able-bodied persons must be employed in order to benefit from many Care Card initiatives.  Every card holder who requires financial assistance with approved tax consultant fees will be able to charge the service to their Care Card.  No person will ever again be incarcerated because of a failure to pay state and federal income taxes because tax arrears are charged onto an enrollee’s Care Card.  Likewise, the penalties and late fees are waived once enrolled.

The IRS and state revenue departments will see huge increases in filings by persons who were not previously filing; higher tax receipts (tax revenues) will result.  IRS penalties and late filing fees will cease to be an issue.

Self-reliance and personal ownership of one’s public burden will once again be the cornerstone of American society.

All state and federal grant initiatives, educational or otherwise, food stamp, and welfare program costs like all existing and fully funded entitlements, when administered through the Care Card, will recover much their associated costs with reasonable interest for the American tax base.  Any law which allows taxpayer funded “forgiveness” of educational financing obligations must be repealed.  The Care Card will provide for the ease of repayment of these funds for recipients and all citizens should have “equal protection” under the law.  Taxpayers should rightfully be treated equitably by the governments they elect.

Public service announcements will encourage Care Card holders to use the Care Card resources to enrich their lives and to help them become responsible and participating members of American society:  “Pass the torch”, “pay it forward”, “building a brighter tomorrow”, “just do it”, and “1 part inspiration, 10 parts sweat” come to mind as inspirational messages that embody the Care Card spirit.

Charitable “tax deductible” giving will be organized through Care Card accounts.  Orphans, cancer patients, homeless persons, or struggling young families may receive donations to their Care Card accounts via the ‘charitable giving’ payment portals incorporated into the online exchanges.  HHS representatives will consider candidates and assist them with creating profiles.  Concerned private and corporate sponsors will be able to view various profiles which may include pictures and videos.  They will also be able to transmit communications of praise and support and may also donate directly into these accounts.  Those with profiles will be encouraged to compel donations by taking actions in their personal lives to ‘be all they can be’.  A beneficiary of sponsorship can respond with updates on progress and gratefulness.

Under the Care Card system, it will no longer be easy for a parent to thwart personal responsibility for the children they sire.  All taxpayer funded child care programs will be administered through charges to the parents of that child.  i.e.:  school nutrition programs, head start, after school tutoring, day care…

All charges for benefits administered to a child (under 18) through that child’s Care Card will be evenly distributed to the biological parents of that child.  Adoptive parents may voluntarily take this expense in the absence of live biological parents.  Through this system, single parents will be inclined to name the missing parent in order to facilitate the transfer of 50% of the charges incurred caring for that child.  DNA profiling will be required of all Care Card beneficiaries for the purpose of assisting authorities with the identification of biological parents.  These profiles will also prove useful to the process of apprehension of criminals.

Medicare recipients will enter into the Care Card program with Care Card credit vouchers equivalent to their benefit.  These vouchers and the Medicare program will be phased out over a 20 year period.  All Medicaid recipients will enter directly into the Care Card program without vouchers.

All tax expenditures under consideration by government that are intended to affect any portion of the general public less than the whole will be administered through the Care Card system.  Going forward, this is the only way to be equitable (fair).