Big Think

tim hall on June 12, 2009, 5:50 PM

The issues are numerous.

1. CEOs and upper management making fortunes off of misfortunes. 28%

2. Pharmaceutical companies over charging in non-competitive meds. ?%

3. This is the largest issue. Do we as a sociaty want to pay for our common man’s healthcare or live with the alternatives. Several million untreated humans could smell really bad and possibly cause an epidemic. There is no magic solution to poor people affording healthcare. The minimum wage would have to be $20 per hour for one single parent to afford food shelter and helthcare. Our capitalist economy is based on cheap wages so that will never happen. We could maybe ship poor people away or poison them. But then who would wash our balls? (golf balls of coarse) Ok, that was a little harsh.

4. Hospitals were started as a charity. Now they are multi-billion dollar corporations. They have managing staffs that compete for wages similar to the HMOs. They have billions of dollars worth of corrupt purchasing. They are behind in electronic documentation. Electronic documentation has proven to be cheaper and more efficient. (Yes, you would need the tax payers to help get it started) It is very expensive to build software and train staff to use it properly. The doctors would have instant access to every similar case and could find the proper procedure quicker and better.

Suggestions:

Because national healthcare is so scary to so many folks, it is unlikely that our government could pass such a thing in one swift motion. So the alternative is to create just enough competition to cut the gross over spending in management without colapsing the insurance market. At the same time we want to feel like we are not paying for others bad health habits. This could be solved by creating mutual funds or bond accounts. So if you take good care of your family, you don’t lose all that you pay in. At the same time, you would have to pass stiffer government regulation on healthcare providers. They will try to reduce the quality to make up for lost 70 million dollar wage packages. We don’t want our doctors throwing their hands up in the air and quiting because they are not allowed to treat properly. We will also need government auditors to police purchasing of equiptment, construction, supplies and so on. We don’t want it to turn out like the defence contractors being able to steal billions per year. There are know suggestions to pay for the poor, other than educate and eliminate poverty or wash your own stupid balls. Golf balls of coarse.

Eve Luppert on June 18, 2009, 11:11 PM

Eve Luppert on June 18, 2009, 11:25 PM

>>At the same time we want to feel like we are not paying for others bad health habits. This could be solved by creating mutual funds or bond accounts.<<

But that is how all insurance works.  If you are healthy now, you are supporting those that aren’t healthy now….and later, when you aren’t healthy, the healthy take care of you.

Since most health insurance companies are taking in huge profits, the idea that your rates are insane because Joe and his family down the street always eat at MacDonalds and smoke is pretty insincere.  Costs go up because of greed.  And because the insurance company increase their profits by denying coverages that your doctor recommends, and then blame you and your doctor for needing the care.  It’s blaming the victim.

There has been a movement that is somewhat like your mutual fund idea..it is called health care savings accounts.  Many companies have been offering this as a way to reduce costs…and I’ll say it does.  You pay a premium to the insurance company, but if you need any care you take the contributions you have made (not counting premiums of course) and any your company may make on your behalf and then use that money to pay for care.  They’ve finally figured out how to take you premiums and not pay anything out….genius.

The truth is a tiny little portion of the insured use the doctors office as a time waster.  This is not the problem

The premise is that costs are high because you and I love going to the doctor for the heck of it, have procedures just because we can and take prescription we don’t need.  Clearly they are doing a good job of convincing their customers that while you need your medicine, no one else does. 

Further, they think that if we are consumers we will shop around for better prices.  So, when your daughter breaks her arm, rather than rush to the nearest emergency room, you’ll get on the phone and price shop.  Or when you are prescribed something for your acid reflux, you’ll price shop (which of course is a waste, since all prices are the same) or settle for Tums and milk, until your esophogas rusts, and then you’ll call around for a cheap surgery. 

So, the insurance co’s have been very successful with much of the population (and too many of our elected officials) at convincing us the problem is us…well, not us, but all those other lazy, bad habit attention seekers that are on your plan.  But, look at the profits these “non-profits” make and your head will spin. 

tim hall on June 19, 2009, 6:35 PM

Eve, I am for full national health-care. The problem is that it will not pass because the insurance business are sronger than the people. We are still up against a 10 year transition. We have to give the fools something that are afraid.

We know that by cutting out the greedy profits, we could drive down cost. The savings account plan should work if it had compitition from a government plan and both were regulated by government. We would be giving the fearful ones something. In a capitalist society, you cannot tell a company how much they can pay their CEOs. But you can cut the profit by setting regulations that won’t allow them to extract but only a small fair amount of administrative fees from your savings account.

There is a lot of greed in this industry. But to think they are going away quietly, your fooling yourself.