Wow, what a concept. Like no one has ever thought of actually paying for their health care costs out of their pocket before.
Which brings BMB to one of his pet peeves, and that is the whole idea of health insurance.
< Rant On >
First off, the idea that health care is “free” if you have health insurance is absurd. Take a look at your pay stubs and see how much is taken out each time to pay the premiums on your health insurance coverage. You’re paying for it. Now more than ever. And as the costs go up, you’re complaining about it. But you’re partly to blame.
And here’s where BMB sticks his neck out when it comes to the rising costs of health care:
I maintain that health insurance, while it was intended to be part of the ’solution’, is a large part of the problem.
Here’s why:
The widespread availability and use of health insurance discourages competition in the health care industry. It discourages the consumer from “shopping around” for better prices on any of their health care needs, be it prescription drugs, office visits, tests, etc. It also prevents and/or discourages the consumer from even asking what a particular test or procedure might cost, or whether it’s even necessary. We just let the doctors do “what they think needs to be done” without asking any questions or wondering how much it’s going to cost - after all, “insurance is paying for it.”
Baloney - YOU are paying for it every time you make that payment on your health insurance premium (Where do you think the insurance company gets their money? Bingo - from you and your employer.). And you never even bother to find out what any of your actual health care costs are, until after the bill arrives. And then, the insurance company pays it - or at least, most of it. Would you do that when shopping for a car, or for your groceries? Would you walk into Wal-Mart and start grabbing stuff off the shelves without knowing what they cost? Of course you wouldn’t - but that’s what you do when you go to the doctor. Do you see a nice lighted board above the reception desk with the prices listed on it?? NO. Why?? Because they don’t even really have a predetermined price list — it depends on who will be paying the bill.
What’s the first question they ask at the doctor’s office when you call for an appointment? Yes, you know: “What insurance do you have?” Why do they ask? Because, 1) they want to know they will be paid - can’t blame them for that, but 2) The insurance you have not only determines how much they’ll charge for your visit, but in many cases, also determines what they will do!! If your insurance company doesn’t cover a certain procedure, the doctor won’t do that. And vice versa, the doctor may perform a certain procedure just because your insurance company does cover it! That is a broken system, and it needs fixing. And “health care coverage for everyone” is NOT the right answer.
We need a system that leans back toward paying cash for office visits and simple procedures, and gets away from hiding the real costs from the consumer, thereby increasing competition in the industry and driving prices down.
I’m not saying we shouldn’t have some sort of catastrophic coverage, but I think we should move toward a health care model that is similar to our auto insurance model. We carry auto insurance for the big things like theft and accidents, but our insurance does not cover regular maintenance and simple procedures like oil changes. And that forces shops to actually advertise their pricing and tell you what an oil change or minor repair will cost you before you agree to have it done. Even for major repairs, they’ll give you a quote before they do the work. That’s the way our health care system used to work — and we need to get moving back in that direction to get things back in order.
< Rant Off >
Think about it.
