Whether you support the Affordable Healthcare Act or you’re screaming for repealing and replacing it, you’ve got to realize that any U.S. President, whoever he/she may be, will be hard pressed to come up with any solutions for the insurance companies and those they serve until we look first at addressing the high cost of healthcare itself.

When did doctors stop reaching for a cure and start reaching for our wallets and ATM cards? Gone are the days of house calls, personalized health care and having your broken leg set for the cost of a good laying hen. When you enter a hospital now, for whatever the reason, they may as well be hooking you up to monitors and your own personal ATM because, in many cases, it’s going to cost a fortune whether you have insurance or not.

You will be billed by a dozen doctors, most of whom you’ve never seen and some who have never seen you; if your chart or name crossed their desk, they’ll bill you. They will order a few dozen different tests that may or may not be related to what’s wrong with you. They’ll justify it because someone you’ve never met somewhere says that at some time or another someone who fits your basic health history, symptoms, body type and has the same number of tattoos had something that warrants that particular test so they’re going to give it to you too-just to be sure.

It shouldn’t surprise many of us that the United States consistently ranks the worst among the top 11 industrialized nations for quality and affordable healthcare. Health spending per capita in the U.S. is higher than nearly any nation on earth yet the United States’ “measure of health” ranks behind dozens of other nations. In measuring life expectancy, the U.S. ranks behind 30 other nations.

Many think or thought that the ACA is/was the answer to their healthcare prayers because they cover pre-existing conditions for the same premium rates as they charge for those without. Some think Trump has turned his back on America by wanting to repeal the ACA.

Take another look at your ACA plan in 2017 and you may realize that either way, your pre-existing conditions are going to cost you and everyone else higher premiums; at least Trump did away with the penalties for the health insurance that, soon, none of us will be able to afford anyway.

On a national average from the time that the ACA was officially signed, sealed and delivered on March 23, 2010, our health care premiums have been going up across the board. From the years 2013-2017 insurance premiums have gone up 108 percent nationally with some states like Oklahoma seeing a rise of over 200 percent in the cost of their premiums according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Nevada has seen a rise of 86 percent. These figures are calculated based on the 39 states that use healthcare.gov. At the current rate that premiums are getting hiked up, it won’t be long before nobody will be able to afford insurance of any kind.

If you have ACA in Nevada and started paying $204 a month for insurance just four short years later, you’re paying $379 and probably not getting the same amount of coverage you had in 2013. What do you think your premiums might be in just four more years? Even at the present rate of 86 percent raise, it will be over $700 in 2021.

Now, under the ACA, if at any time you can’t afford that premium payment and you allow your insurance to lapse, pray that you don’t have a pre-existing condition because now it’s really going to cost you. Yes, once your coverage lapses, insurance companies are now exempt from charging you what they charge everyone else and can now charge accordingly for your pre-existing condition.

Everything has a catch, and there’s no perfect plan, whether it comes from a republican or a democrat, a conservative or a liberal, we’re all misguided in our thoughts of trying to solve the U.S.’s medical malfunction with insurance coverage alone; we have to rein in the cost of healthcare first.

You can’t force business to provide services to the point of the company’s detriment. That’s exactly what the ACA seems to be doing by forcing insurance premiums to stay the same across the board. Trump isn’t forcing that issue. He is putting it up front that insurance costs will be higher to cover the higher expenses associated with some pre-existing conditions and he’s giving free enterprise back to the insurance companies. He is right in allowing the insurance companies their “free market” but he’s still only putting a Band-Aid on an ugly, gaping wound.

So what is the answer?

Some Americans have discovered a better plan, their way is not to seek American healthcare at all. Insurance only covers so much and out-of-pocket costs have been on the rise right along with the premiums and now Americans are beginning to steadily seek medical treatment outside of America.

There are four countries rated top notch for quality and affordable healthcare and one of them is just across the border. Thousands of Americans take a trip across the border to Mexico for some of the best medical care at a fraction of the cost of the U.S. The facilities are top notch with the latest technology, treatments and medications. Having major surgery or receiving treatment for a serious condition is not a problem even as an expatriate. You can expect to pay half or less of what you would pay in the U.S. for the same treatment and/or prescriptions. Mexico ranks fourth, Columbia ranks third, Costa Rica is second and Malaysia ranks number one in the World for affordable and quality healthcare.

According to International Living:

A stronger U.S. dollar, cheaper air travel, mounting healthcare costs in Western countries (and long waiting lists), have all contributed to the Malaysian medical tourism boom in the past decade. Medical tourists arriving in Malaysia have increased on average by 100 percent in the last five years.

George Town and Kuala Lumpur are the main two medical centers in Malaysia, and both cities are serviced by a multitude of international airlines from around the world.

It’s time we repeal and replace the United States medical industry and our government may want to look at some of these top models for examples. https://internationalliving.com/4-countries-best-healthcare-world/.