Breaking News: "Healthy people are happier with their Medical Insurance"
With 24 hour news cycles, pundits seem to run out of things to say on any subject. Today, it was noted on network news that healthy people are happier with their medical insurance. I normally try to research what I use to make sure that it is accurate. In this case, unless someone emails me and says, "I never saw that coming," let's all assume that the statement is true and hope that no one was paid much for these words of wisdom. If any news producer is reading this, let me give you a free one for tomorrow. "Those that haven't needed their medical plan for anything in the last 15 years are upset that they paid anything for medical insurance."
Most people are oblivious to the complexities of our insurance system until they are forced to use it for complicated medical problems. We can get to something that works without a tremendous cost if we make some easy choices. Maybe not easy, but reasonable.
Yesterday on a link in Twitter, an individual made the comparison between Automobile Insurance and Medical Insurance. The logic was that one can get a very high amount of coverage for a reasonable amount for Auto Insurance. True, but everyone that has auto insurance does not have a claim; or if they do, it happens very infrequently or they will lose their coverage and driving privileges. Since most people have Auto Insurance, the cost for accidents is spread over a large group of people. Those who may never have an accident for 40 years still pay for coverage (although they will probably get a better rate). The biggest difference between the two is that you may never need the Auto coverage, but you still have it. When dealing with Health Care Insurance, we will all need it someday and it may be very expensive when you do. Those with great genetics and healthy lifestyles are still just putting off the inevitable.
I have come full circle in my thoughts about Medical Insurance and now believe that all should have a Policy. That does not necessarily mean "Universal Health Care" in its current definition, but the results could be the same. First; the Insurance industry must have oversight to allow everyone to get insurance and have a reasonable amount of coverage and deductibles. The amount paid for each diagnosis and procedure must be available to health care providers and patients without going through the pre-approval process. Anything beyond what is considered normal may require a doctor to justify, but that would be a major improvement on how things are done today.
A means test for those who can afford to buy insurance (if they are not covered by their employer) should be developed so that they can buy insurance and the cost of the premiums should be tax deductible to allow a level playing field for those who receive employer coverage which is excluded from income. For those who cannot afford private insurance policies, the government could have a plan that would allow them coverage for what they can afford. The government option would only apply as long as an individual cannot afford insurance. When their situation changes, they will be able to buy private insurance without regard to any medical conditions and that would be part of the oversight of the insurance industry.
With one-half of the hospitals in the country losing money and doctors being forced to spend less time with patients and more on paperwork, this may be a good compromise position. If doctors and hospitals knew that everyone had insurance and that they would be reimbursed at a fair rate without the write-offs for bad debts, what would they be willing to charge for procedures and office visits? If you asked the health care providers, I am sure that the costs would be reduced and they could make a reasonable profit. It would also allow doctors to spend time with patients concerning wellness and prevention.
This would be closer to a free market approach, but with controls that would protect the patients and have oversight over how insurance companies operate. I think that there are many combinations or hybrid solutions that could solve most of our problems with out trying to do it all or not doing anything. It is apparent that there is too much political and social rhetoric now and some cooler heads are trying to figure out a reasonable and compassionate solution.
TVP tvp@dyingforinsurance.com
Posted by The Virtual Patient at 7/22/2009 8:51 PM 
Categories: Insurance, Private Policies, Universal Healthcare, Costs
Tags: universal health deductible Private Policies cost coverage
Categories: Insurance, Private Policies, Universal Healthcare, Costs
Tags: universal health deductible Private Policies cost coverage
interesting statistics... obvious, but still interesting
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Nicely presented information in this post, I prefer to read this kind of stuff. The quality of content is fine and the conclusion is good. Thanks for the post.
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As the name of this post refers Healthy people are happier with their Medical Insurance, is really breaking news for me and all other readers of this blog. It’s really a surprise for me to hear that most people are oblivious to the complexities of our insurance system until they are forced to use it for complicated medical problems. It’s really a good news that individuals can buy private insurance without regard to any medical conditions and that would be part of the oversight of the insurance industry. This post is really a valuable one as it helped me a lot to understand more about the health care insurance policies and their procedures. I will definitely suggest this post to my entire friend as I think this should be helpful for them too.
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