Here's my two cents regarding all of the health care debate that is going on within the U.S. these days. Now granted, I know that this is an extremely difficult problem and there are many sides both pro and con for providing insurance, but it seems to me that the true problem is that the COST of healthcare has grown so out of place with reality, that it is now untouchable for some people. In saying that I don't really understand the logic in trying to provide insurance to the masses, thinking that this will help "control" the costs of healthcare. In fact I think that this will grow the problem of rising healthcare costs. It's almost like the insurance industry has created the same kind of environment that we find in Casinos using chips instead of actual money. The reason being that people are more apt to gamble their "chips" away, because there is not the connection between chips and real money. That is until your down a couple of hundred bucks then it all becomes too real. The out of control spiral between the medical industry and the insurance industry has grown so much that the actual "dollar" that insurance spends has no real value to the customers. Prices have been so inflated, and those of us with insurance know that the insurance companies magically pay the difference regardless of the inflated costs. The real problem is where the insurance companies magically get the money they use to then pay the inflated prices.
So what does a bobsled have to do with this subject. In 1998 my daughter was born through a rather complicated birth. My wife and I were at the hospital two full nights while waiting for her to arrive into this world. Those two nights I was told I could sleep in this chair that laid down into what the nurse said was a bed. I would have to take her word for it, because the evidence while trying to sleep on it for those two night proved the contrary. I told my wife later it felt like I was trying to sleep in a bobsled. It wasn't until about a month later, when we received the statement from the insurance company, that we found that I and our insurance company paid $400 dollars a night for me to sleep in a bobsled. Yep $800 dollars, two nights in a fold away chair/bobsled. Priceless. And so goes the circle of insured healthcare...maybe unless something else happens, like... I don't know...regulation?
3 comments:
You hit the nail on the head, Tim. The consumer (ie, the patient) has no control over the costs, as they would in a free market system; too often you find out after choices are made what the costs are.
But the counter-intuitive part is that we all still pay for the uninsured. When I got an ear infection while uninsured, I had to go to a clinic and pay $85 for an exam, and $50 for the medicine. If I hadn't had that money (and at the time, I really didn't have it), I might have had to skip the care, risking greater damage and costs dealing with a bigger infection and possibly a surgery... which would have been done at an emergency room, where they are required by law to treat first and deal with money later.
So while it sounds easy to say, "we can't afford to cover everyone", the reality is that you can end up paying more down the road for NOT covering everyone.
And has anyone else noticed that the major costs cited by the auto companies and by the post office as contributing to their bankruptcies have been from paying for health care benefits? It seems to me that covering everyone is a small first step; there will be a long, boring process of fixing other problems in the system after that.
Here's the hitch: hospitals/health care providers are morally and legally responsible for giving their product to whoever needs it, even if they can't pay. But the doctors, nurses, technicians, etc. who work in these places, and the medical equipment makers and suppliers and drug companies, still get paid for everyone they serve. So those who can pay get charged way more to essentially help pay for those who can't. Until everyone can pay (everyone has insurance, essentially) you will have either a reason or an excuse for charging for $400 bobsled stays. Once everyone is able to pay for services (by whatever means), THEN consumers can say, "HEY, what the hell is up with $400 for a bobsled?" and there will be no reason/excuse. Simply saying "the prices are way to high" is way to simplistic.
I also agree with you premise. The way I look at it is there is a huge disconnect between any premiums you pay and any particular service you ask for. That is where the problem lies - no direct accountability. Free market forces could improve that. Handing out FREE services to anyone that wants them will make that worse.
Most of us get insurance through our employer. The costs are hidden from us.
When I paid my own premiums for disaster insurance and paid out of pocket for the small stuff, we took better care of ourselves and watched everything health care related we spent money on. When you (I) are opening your own wallet, you may not "need" another chiropractice adjustment or sealants for your teeth or wart burned off your foot or whatever. That is free market forces the expenditures down.
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