Redesign the Paradigm

Why can’t I, as a consumer and a tax payer, have access to quality health care that hasn’t over the past seven years consistently increased in price, required higher co-pays and deductibles, and provided diminishing levels of care? I consider myself fortunate that my family has been under an employer’s group plan during this time and that we have not experienced a serious accident or chronic illness. Otherwise I am fairly confident that my insurance costs would have increased substantially while benefits would have been decreased.

In the past seven years I have noticed:

• My health care costs have increased
• Insurance company profits have increased
• Insurance company Executive Level pay and incentive packages have increased.
• Administrative (billing / payments) inefficiencies have increased.
• Doctors and Hospitals are increasingly capped by the insurance companies as to reimbursement for services but expected to provide the same level of care.

I have no issue with for profit insurance companies. If some segment of the population wants them, they should have that choice. I am also not convinced our US Government could run a public program as efficiently as Germany or Switzerland’s Governments.

I do have concerns about the increased number of mergers resulting in a few, very powerful insurance companies setting industry standards and pricing. Competitive pricing is limited since the smaller insurance company’s appear to be following the lead of the larger companies relying on being more exclusive in their selection of the insured to make a profit.

The national debate on healthcare seems to be largely consumed with whether we are going down the road of socialism. It is my perspective that our current system of health care insurance disproportionately benefits the health care industry, its senior executives and shareholders. All of which, do not represent me or the vast majority of Americans. There seems to be considerable misinformation that from a strategic sense seems to be geared towards maintaining the status quo.

If there are other systems out there such as: privatized non-profit health care insurance options, why can’t we seriously consider these? I’ve read many of the arguments for how it is really a public program in disguise, it requires funding by the government and therefore there are strings attached, how the private, non-profits and /or co-ops could never compete against the top for-profit companies, etc….

There are other countries around the world that have non-profit, private companies. The first thing that happened once the programs were in place was a considerable decrease in administrative costs and executive compensation.  These companies within months ran more efficiently, provided transparency to their insured regarding prices and availability of service and lowered the overall cost paid by the consumer for coverage and services. I think that this is our most viable plan.

As a tax payer I would like to see my dollars pay for something that will benefit the majority of insured American’s by providing funding for the startup of non-profit, private insurers which in turn will generate strong competition within the health care insurance industry. My tax dollars are already subsidizing and financing major industries, such as: banking, oil, and agriculture, perhaps we should pull some of the dollars from these already profitable industries and put it towards something as vitally important as health care.  What I believe is needed at this time is management  focused on providing paying customers with the most efficient, cost effective plans not the most profitable. I would also like to see no strings attached from any federal financing, low interest loans or subsidization.

I am not advocating the removal of for-profit insurance companies. I am looking for the best option that I, as a consumer, can have. I now believe that the priorities of the for-profit insurance companies have shifted so far into profit maximization that they no longer provide myself or our American society the value they once did. Perhaps its time to consider an alternative that is focused more on the care than on generating shareholder wealth and stock option plans for executives.

I have read many of the reasons for why this type of plan or any plan outside of our current system will not work, and they were not convincing. The purpose of this blog is to generate ideas or discuss the viability of options; let’s make that happen by providing your constructive comments.