Governor Cuomo is calling for the reorganizing of our disjointed and dysfunctional health service into a National Health System.
This would necessarily include a National Health Service, public private partnerships, and a mix of reserve elements and active elements. A lot of people, including me, have seen the need for this for a long time, and so it is about time we begin taking the concept seriously.
Training and Disciplining "according to the discipline prescribed by Congress"
A national system has to be organized under either the current National Guard or in parallel to it. The easiest way would be to add a Reserve Health Guard Militia to the National Guard Schema. The existing Uniform Health Service would be expanded. And Reserve Health Guard Officers trained using existing medical schools in country, of Citizens, in return for service according to uniform standards. These officers would then be used for emergencies, shortages, to serve the Naval and Land forces, and in deprived locations where market based healthcare fails. Once they had completed a term of active service they would remain either reserve officers or Auxilliary Reserve officers but be free to go into private practice.
Public Private Relationships
Private doctors and healthcare companies would fall under the Reserve Health Service as Private Reserve Auxilliary "militia" members. Their entire companies could be called into service during emergencies. As a condition of their operating license, each company, institution, installation and provider would have to sign a contract with the National and State HealthCare Reserve and agree to meet readiness demands, in return for Federal compensation at a reasonable price when they are called into service or voluntarily serve emergency medical needs. They would have to meet federal and state standards.
Emergency Reserve Capabilities
Just in time supply would be supplemented by Emergency reserve capabilities. The scenario is that factories producing consumer coulds would have standbye protocols and equipment for rapid retooling to produce vital goods. Active duty Public Health Medical Logistics and forecasting Professionals would be able to create forcasts and requisition reserve supplies to meet those needs rapidly when called on. Congress should reconstitute the Pandemic Response institutions necessary for this.
Healthcare is National Security
The plans can be put into place and prepared in advance. Drills can be done. Food, Medicine, Health Care is as much a Security issue as weaponry and force of arms. Wars have been lost because armies were too sick to fight. Cuomo's recommendations are overdue. Universal healthcare does not mean we have to nationalize industry. It does mean that industry needs to remember they are part of a country and have duties as well as privileges. It does mean that profiteering and privateering, for private separate advantage, have no legitimate place in healthcare.
Chris Holte
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