National Health Lottery: A New Way to Fund Health Insurance

Introduction:
Solving the Great Issue of Our Time

My proposal, originally introduced as "My Simple Health Insurance Plan" or simply "George's Plan," is intended to help resolve the very tough social and political issue America has been struggling with for decades: How do we pay for quality health insurance and make it affordable for all Americans?

My proposal is not tax based. It is a new system for raising the huge amounts of dollars – billions – necessary to revitalize our country's health care system. At its most basic, the idea is to implement a national lottery to provide a new source of funding. This concept has already been extremely successful in many states as a means of providing funds for education.

Right now, many fine minds are focused on bringing awareness of the crisis in American health care to center stage. Unfortunately, all of the current proposals being debated are based on taxes and fees — or perhaps achieving some savings by reducing waste and fraud in our existing system. My plan takes a completely different approach.

Others continue to highlight the shame and seemingly hopelessness of the situation; that nearly 50 million Americans have no health insurance coverage, and that millions more can barely afford minimal coverage. My plan increases the number of those who are covered without raising taxes or cutting services.

Still others remain mired in the bitter complaint that we have waited too long to fix a system which has become too expensive to work well for anyone. This search for blame with its tendency to demonize others achieves nothing and does not serve the greater good. My plan increases the number of small insurance companies that can better serve Americans because it keeps costs down and limits potential abuse.

Finally, many of our leaders who have the power to reform the health care system have been paralyzed into just saying "no," because no viable solution has been offered which is acceptable to their desire to restrain taxes and government mandates.

All of these competing forces at one level or another operate from a place of truth and concern, but are now deadlocked. My objective in writing this book is to offer a new, commonsense, pragmatic solution that can rally the support of most Americans without bankrupting the nation or raising new taxes. My plan will greatly reduce insurance rates and make it affordable for millions of Americans who presently cannot afford coverage.

I believe the blueprint contained in this book for a new health care funding system that is not tax based can satisfy all who seek truly viable and affordable health insurance reform. Whether the reader is a politician, journalist, patient, physician, administrator or ordinary citizen, I think all will find new hope in the simplicity and voluntary nature of this proposal.

As a successful small business owner, I know that new answers and solutions take time and effort to uncover, germinate, grow and flourish. My Simple Health Insurance Plan is built on a foundation that is old and new. I have spent years perfecting the proposal you now hold in your hands. Even with the passage of a health insurance reform bill, my plan is credible and doable.

I hope that you will ultimately become an advocate of George's Plan — and make it your plan. If so, tell a friend. Urge those whom you admire — and who can make a difference in the effort to improve health coverage in America — to seriously consider the benefits of implementing a National Health Lottery along with its major components.

Sincerely,
George Connolly
January 2010

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