This system would be fine if individuals who purchased health insurance were allowed to enjoy the same breaks as the major health insurers when it came to costs. But without the bargaining power of “the group,” I don’t think that will happen. And as the article mentioned, unless you’re really familiar with the system, you don’t know that you, as an individual have some bargaining power.
We’ve been covered under group insurance (our share of premiums are about 300 per month) for years. My husband had surgery a couple years ago, the bill was in the $60,000 range, the hospital was paid $9,000 by the insurer, we paid our copay, and that was that. As an individual, I could go in and negotiate a lower bill, but most people aren’t even aware of that fact, and the truth is, as an individual, if I do negotiate a bill, I still won’t get the same benefit as a “group” negotiation. Will individuals be able to form “groups” on their own, in order to negotiate lower prices?
Another problem with this plan...it will shift more people to public hospitals because not everyone is “responsible” enough to take the extra money in their paycheck and spend it on insurance. So the people that use the money for something else, will then go to the public hospitals where treatment can’t be denied.
And even if the person is “responsible”...will those with pre-existing conditions be denied insurance and become part of the “uninsured.” And if they are denied, there again, will that shift them to public hospitals and eventually tax the system even more?
Another consideration, health care costs rise each year. So the employer gives the employee the cost of insurance in the form of a raise. Well the year after that, will there be a “raise” in the employee’s paycheck for insurance premiums, or is this a one time deal...you get the cost of insurance today added into your wage, and that cost stays the same year after year, even though the cost of insurance is rising. If that’s the case, then I can see why the business sector would be in favor of it. It saves them lots of money in administrative costs and they get to freeze their insurance cost obligations at today’s dollars.
I could potentially see this causing more of a burden on “public health” than exists already.
Lots of questions to be asked.
I’ve often heard that the reason for higher medical costs is to cover the uninsured. However, like your husband, my hospital stay earlier this year incurred around $20K but my insurance only had to pay their “contracted rate” of $6k. So I have to wonder, is it the uninsured driving up the cost of healthcare or is it the “contracted rates” that the hospitals have to recoup? I’ve heard also that the uninsured are charged more per service than the insured - why?
I know that our family would not be covered if we had to go to an individual policy do to “pre-existing” conditions. However, we pay right around $600/mo for just the premium not including co-pays for office visits and prescriptions.
Our family doctor has implemented a new system where if you don’t have/use insurance, you get a 20% discount. I’ve heard a lot of doctors going this route rather than paying the administrative costs for filing insurance that pay’s (in our case each office visit) $18 on top of the $30 we pay.
I certainly don’t want universal coverage, but maybe a catastrophic plan would be better for our family. We’re looking at all sides of the issue to figure out what’s best for us.