To End The FReepathon
Reforming our dysfunctional health care system requires more than high deductibles and HSAs.
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Right. We have to do something about the politicians who prefer dysfunction because that leads to bigger government, more money and more power for them.
Central planning, cartels, and government programs are the problem.
Good post. No one should look at Canada for a good example since coverage has been slowly diminishing by constantly removing covered procedures and medications. Health care here has become rationed big time. Surgical waits are unbelievable and dangerous. I’m so thankful we were smart enough to continue employment extended health care on our own, sort of costly, but more valuable every year.
Go back to free market. Let charity work w/the poor. Used to have charitable hospitals before the depression.
The Affordable Healthcare Act is typical of all liberal policies. It does the opposite of what it claims to do.
Vastly increase the bureacracy required to run it. Vastly increase the amount of paperwork, digital or dead-tree, Add in no modifications for pre-existing conditions, and you are going to lower costs? The only way tolower costs and keep the new structure is to eliminate medicine, remove all health delivery from the system but continue to legally require everyone to buy coverage. Even with that the overhead will inevitably rise to far outstrip income.
What crap. What the author is saying in the bold section is that it is a problem when high deductible plans work as they are designed. Their purpose is to keep you from going broke when the SHTF. But according to this idiot, it's a problem that you can now afford to keep getting health care after you've paid the deductible. He'd prefer that the seriously ill consider not getting so much care.
And then he talks about policymakers designing the plans. If it was an Aetna policy designer/actuary, then ok. But I'm sure he's talking about a government policymaker, who was the person who got us into this mess in the first place.
It's shocking an adult could be this naive.
This person thinks medical centers don't try to keep costs low? What's the thought process behind that?
Every patient is on DRGs (diagnostic related groups) or Medicare. The services they charge for are capped!!!!!
If you go in for DRG 324, you get what the insurance company or Medicare pays for DRG 324. PERIOD!
What does the hospital try to do? It tries it's very best to cover that DRG 324 for the lowest possible outlay.
The idea the care for these patients is lush and over the top reveals the writer to have no clue whatsoever about modern health care.
bfl
How to achieve it? Simple: All medical insurance payments may only be made directly to the beneficiary who is covered by the policy. No direct payments to any intermediary. They must present an actual itemized bill for every fee and service and be paid by the patient.
But of course nobody wants to really solve the root issue, which is why all talk of "reform" is just window dressing.
Just had a physical checkup.
Dr was speaking well of what some companies are doing, creating a direct annual-fee contractual relationship with a doctors group, no insurance middle man. Big expenses are covered by a catastrophic plan.