Health care
Dr.
According to Dr. Hsieh the key to Colorado’s health care needs is the “free market” and the magic of “personal responsibility.” Never mind that these same principles have already given Americans one of the most expensive medical systems in the world (consuming more than 15% of our GDP) while leaving forty-five million of us uninsured and helping us to rank among the lowest 25% of industrialized nations in things like life expectancy and infant mortality.
Besides the amount of money we spend on health care, the U.S. ranks near the top in only one other category: physicians’ incomes. Funny that Dr. Hseih didn’t think to mention that.
This letter has not been edited.
I wish Canada would invade and occupy us (hey! We have weapons of mass destruction!) so middle-class US citizens in their fifties and early sixties, who've worked their entire lives and now find themselves downsized and without health insurance, could have some kind of catastrophic coverage so they don't lose their retirement savings if an old-age disease strikes.
Posted by Winston Smith on June 16, 2007 02:30 PMThank you Dr. Hill for your excellent post. "Free Markets and Personal Responsibility" Could only be spoken by someone who has a vested interest in making money from the system.
Profit motive in Health Care is immoral. The only way Insurance companies make money is by denying claims. This is immoral.
Posted by Todd on June 16, 2007 02:38 PMI hope everyone realizes that for the US to give health care to everyone will cost you 35% increase in your taxes, for you see if this health care plan goes thru you will be paying for all those non-illegals ILLEGALS coming across our southern border.
Posted by Tim on June 16, 2007 05:19 PMTim - My tax dollars are already being used to treat illegals.
What needs to change is the fact that middle class, middle-aged uninsured people have to chose between getting treatment which will deplete all of our savings, or dying and knowing our estates will be left to our children so they may attend college and have a safety net in this uncertain world.
Our current system favors the very poor, the illegals, the wealthy, and people over age 65.
The middle class and middle-aged are being squeezed out due to unaffordable premimums based on ridiculously-narrow risk pools and pre-existing conditions which eliminate health coverage for just about every possible future ailment.
People on Medicaid get better health treatment than I do. I pay taxes to cover them while I must use my health care dollars very carefully and forgoe seeing doctors and having preventive screens.
Winston,
I have lousy insurance. I just got out ot the hospital where most of my left foot was amputated because of a diabetic foot ulcer. Previously a much larger ulcer on the other side of the foot required surgery and an extended home treatment. It was completely healed in four months. A small ulcer appeared on the other side of the foot. A different provider limited care by charging thirty dollars for a regular office visit and fifty for any other kind. To have the dressing checked or changed cost fifty dollars. Obviously we didn't get it checked often enough and the wound became infected just like the one before it.
I had follow up carefor the first from a diabetic foot specialist which was extended beyond the change of insurance because of the surgery aftercare. Last Week I was in extreme pain from a left leg swollen to twice the normal size and a wound that was now size of a silver dollar on the outside of the foot. The "specialist" from my HMO was upset when I told him I had been seeing the diabetic podiatrist since my first surgery. Another surgeon had told me it would be necessary to amputate the little toe and perhaps the one next to it. This arrogant, upset surgeon notified me that he was the one in charge of handling these cases and I should have seen him as they all came to him. I answered that I was more comfortable with the surgeon who specailized in diabetic feet who was supposed to be approved by the company. He told me that was never approved. He also told me that my trying to save money was self defeating as it has resulted in my ending up in the emergency room. I told him that I was there because the specialist and I had an appointment on Thursday, This was Monday night, and after the call telling me I had to re-schedule as he had a surgical emergency and that was the soonest he could get in for that patient, he told me to go to my regular doctor. She would not see me and told me to go to the ER. I called orthopedics, the fifty dollar docs and got told the same things. When I told the surgeon he nodded his head like I had proved his point and then informed me that the best plan would be to remove all of the front of the foot. Since the horrible pain told me the foot was bad I agreed. Later he informed me it had saved me the possibility of another infection and the same amputation later.
While in the hospital I had to fight off the visiting nurses, home PT, a strong recommendation that I got to a nursing home and various orders that I simply laughed at.
I had to inform the visiting nurses six times that I did not need their services. I replied to their "it's free! " statement that the last free treatment had cost nearly 200.00.
Allowing the patient to pick doctors, care choices etc will reduce costs that are increased by the illegal usage of our ER services by residents as well as illegals but recent studies prove illegals to be far ahead in numbers.
Just like with the visiting nurses people will use much more of something they perceive as free. WE have actually exceeded the yearly deductable for an individual but until we tell them that they will continue charging. When people pay cash for something they shop more carefully. When they use someone else's money they use little or no care. Give all of us elderly, I'm 56, people a MSA and allow us to buy individual insurance and watch our costs go down. We know how to comparison shop.
Ignorance of actual medical charges and laziness are the causes of high costs when it is user pay. Add tax incentives and a large tax credit and see what we choose. BTW the amputation was the right choice and I asked a half hour's worth of, from the look on the surgeon's face, annoying questions before I decided to allow it. The pain level in the foot is quite low and the latest battle is over a special mobility device that allows you to bear weight on a leg when you can't use the foot or ankle. The surgeon wrote a prescription for it. PT got a price and two sources for it from one local and one national dealer. DENIED! Why? Seems Kaiser has a contract with Apria HealthCare and Apria doesn't have such devices. Their competitor did have a used one for 350 dollars less than new but the company can't do business with anyone else without special approval. We tried to get it and got approved for a wheelchair that would limit my mobility and cost me more for my 20% co-pay than the full cost of a new "Kneel Chair."Finally the PT department came up and loaned me their training Kneel Chair as I was the first one who ever mentioned it.
Red tape? YUP. Stupidity? Yup again. Get rid of the middle man making decisions and payments and such contracts will change to those that offer meaningful discounts instead of two week delays and doubled prices. Add the government and I might come out a little better but I doubt it. Just about everyone else will end up losing and I'll count myself in here just in case.
Leave health care to the patient and providers and watch the improvements.
Tim, please cite your baseless clame of 35% increase in taxes. The US spends nearly twice as much per person on healthcare then do fully socialized systems like those in Canada and Sweden, yet don't have near the results according to many sources including the World Health Organization. A fully socialized healthcare system would save up to 40-50% on healthcare costs while insuring 100% of the people instead of 85%.
Posted by Kyle on June 17, 2007 01:03 AMWhy speak of any type of socialist healthcare when we do not control our borders or enforce immigration laws. Duh.
Posted by [Ben] "Common sense" on June 17, 2007 06:48 AMThe answer to healthcare in the US is complicated and many differing ideas of how to solve it. But I do know one thing for sure the only way to get it fixed is to have every politian to have to have the same health insurance and social security we have. That won't happen.
Posted by larrymc on June 17, 2007 09:40 AMI figure anyone who blogs this forum is not a multi-millionaire, otherwise they would be spending their time on a cruise or jet-setting.
The rest of us peons, at some point in our lives, require government subsidized socialistic health care, ala the US military model. Without it, you and your loved ones face financial ruin.
The money spent by Bush and his republican ilk subsidizing defense contractors, the wealthy, and dropping bombs could have done wonders to providing top-notch affordable health care for all Americans, and probably a few illegals to boot..
Eight years squanderd.
Posted by [B/Gen Jack D. Ripper] "Bush" on June 17, 2007 10:20 AM
why didnt good ole billy set this up during his eight years of bj's?
Posted by paco on June 17, 2007 10:54 AMmomma y , You are so right about shopping around for the least expensive services.
I have decent insurance and can see any Dr. or specialist as long as they are in my network,most of them are.
My husbands Dr. wanted him to have a stress treadmill test and wrote an order to have it done at St. Anthony's North. My insurance has a $500 deductible if any one of walk into a Hospital plus 20%.I looked around and found a Cardiologist that did them in his office.All my husband had to pay is a $25 co-pay.Had he listened to his Dr. he would have paid $500 plus 20% of at least $2,700! The Cardiologist cost was $375 and our insurance covered all of it.
For some reason his dr. keeps steering him to St. Anthony's,because now he wants him to get a colonoscopy. I found a place that does it for alot less. He will have to pay the $500 deductible on this test plus 20% of $630,we can handle that.
The point is for everyone who has insurance to shop around for services and drugs. Most insurance companies have mail in drug services where you can get a 3 month supply of a drug you are taking regularly.
You have to be your own health care advocate.Sometimes I am on the phone for hours trying to get things set up and make sure what the costs are going to be.The money I save my family and insurance company is worth the time.Some may say why save the insurance company money?
Alot of insurances have a lifetime amounts they will pay. If something horrible happens you may need that money you saved in the long run.
I will soon be having breast cancer surgery. I don't know what they will find.I will be fully covered and have peace of mind that this won't wipe out our savings. It's probably going to be a simple surgery ,but one never knows.
I have never been without insurance during my adult life,so I don't know what it is like.I would be scared out of my mind.Just because you have insurance doesn't mean you should take it for granted.
Use,control and watch over your insurance like it is a bank account.If you had to write a check for the full amount of health care services each time you used it you would be shopping around trying to save money.
momma y I hope you get better. Keep fighting to get the best care you can.My thoughts and prayers are with you.
Posted by Can I get an AMEN! on June 17, 2007 12:39 PMCan I get an AMEN;
Well said. Colonoscopy services are NOT all hospital related and you might be able to get a discount by a bit more searching. I think there is a "relationship" between your doctor and St. Anthony and I'd ask about it. That hospital saved my life two years ago and I love it but love doesn't make a bad economic deal the right thing even so.
I have been without insurance many times in the past decade as my husband is old enough in a business that has high physical demands and high costs for injuries etc. He drives a truck. For a while he drove for RTD but he was one of those let go before they qualified for a pay increase. He is 63 and must work until he is 66 to retire. I have been forced to file for disability as I have almost no heart muscle and can't even type a letter like this very quickly. (Too many rest breaks)
When I get approved my husband can retire without worrying about me.
When you are without insurance you don't get office treatment. ER is there for a real emergency. For my diabetes I had stockpiled the oral meds by getting truck stop clinics to refil the old prescriptions and do the annual tests. Cost about five hundred a year. Insurance would have been more expensive. It would have been worth it but truck drivers have to work 90 days plus to get insured. Usually the plus is the extra days in a month to make the first of the month to make it a full 90 days, but some companies, including the non-trucking employer, added a 30-60 day probation on and then some added a second probation. Word of mouth was that many drivers would quilt during this time and the timing for all raises would be delayed until 120 days past the end of probation as would the health insurance. Some others fired had used a lot of health care (as had we) and were fired at the end of a month so health care ended without any warning or ability to take care of a few things before the end of insurance. Doctors will believe the dosage for a medication you have a prescription for and experience with. If you can actually safely take half or less than the dose listed you can stockpile for the everyday emergency of losing coverage.
Making health care available by adding government sounds really good but having dealt with the government (VA) I know the final result is lack of care, unicare, delay of care and a claim that the problem is the patient not following the proper steps. The M\S\A's give power to the patient...as it should be.
Now about immigration reform to ease those health care costs........
Immigrants are NOT the reason health care costs are so high. No matter how many times it is repeated, it does not become more accurate.
Posted by Kyle on June 18, 2007 12:24 AMKyle,
Substantiate your claim, It certainly has something to do with it , in your own words "No matter how many times it is repeated, it does not become more accurate."
Same works for you. Just saying (illegal) immigrants are not the reason does not make that true (and I think all, including myself meant ILLEGAL immigration, not immigration) My wife was an immigrant and has always had her own insurance so don't play the general immigration card.
My question t the original letter writter was what their "blue ribbin panel" found if it researched the role Illegal immigration plays in health care costs. Platitudes from you do not answer that questions so if you knwo something than please share with all.
What ,other than the greedy insurance companies is responsible for the skyrocketing costs?
This letter contains two common beliefs about health care that I've found to be inaccurate:
1. That infant mortality and longevity are good indicators of a quality health care system.
These depend on many factors. Instead, one should consider what happens if you get sick, i.e., survival rates and mortality rates. For more, Google "Health socializers ignore benefits of liberty, harms of controls" also at www.tinyurl.com/28ej4r. (Article in Grand Junction Free Press, which also sites other references.)
2. The United States has a free-market in health care. This is false.
My proposal to the 208 Commission (Free-markets, Affordability, and Individual Rights) discusses this, and I go into detail about it to answer one of the commissioner's questions. See Question 2 at www.tinyurl.com/2zcrhu (a link to a PDF file at WhoOwnsYou.org with answers to Commissioner questions). I'd cut and paste the whole answer, but it's rather lengthy (3 pages in a Word file).
This letter contains two common beliefs about health care that I've found to be inaccurate:
1. That infant mortality and longevity are good indicators of a quality health care system.
These depend on many factors. Instead, one should consider what happens if you get sick, i.e., survival rates and mortality rates. For more, Google "Health socializers ignore benefits of liberty, harms of controls" also at
www.tinyurl.com/28ej4r.
(Article in Grand Junction Free Press, which also sites other references.)
2. The United States has a free-market in health care. This is false.
My proposal to the 208 Commission (Free-markets, Affordability, and Individual Rights) discusses this, and I go into detail about it to answer one of the commissioner's questions. See Question 2 at
www.tinyurl.com/2zcrhu
(a link to a PDF file at WhoOwnsYou.org with answers to Commissioner questions). I'd cut and paste the whole answer, but it's rather lengthy (3 pages in a Word file).
Kyle,
Immigrants is not..
OK. Let me explain it simply. You and your family go to an average restaurant for dinner. Three other tables are filled with people. Each table has four people at it. You all order and eat. At one table people eat then get up and leave without paying. At another table the people are eating on a company credit card. They order anything they want and even add a generous tip. You order enough food for your group and pay the bill when it comes. The last group we'll ignore for now.
The first group is those without any ties who can't be found and billed. Illegals have been proven to be such a large part of this group that many emergency rooms in California and in border cities are closing because of financial losses. The group dining on a credit card is those with really good insurance. They don't have to care about the costs and they don't. They waste food and order bottles of wine and other extras because they will never see the bill. You are the average guy with basic insurance with some rather high co-pays to cover the big stuff and your own pockets to cover the rest. Now the owner of the restaurant can take the loss from the first group and add it to your bill and/or to the credit card diners. You might notice too late to protest or the restaurant might claim that it is a surcharge you agreed to by ordering. The cc diners won't care. Now we come back to that other table. The owner doesn't know which group is which but he has been in business for a long time. He sends a waiter to the table to take the order. Should he add the surcharge automatically before they order? Should he quickly print a new menu with higher prices? Should he wait to charge the credit card diners until he finds out? Should he just take his chances? What if the city council said he had to serve everyone who came in without asking if they could pay and taking their word that they would bring in the money later if they didn't have it with them?
That is the health care problem and just adding it on to a government credit card won't work because somebody (hint: US)has to pay it.
The illegals know they can get treatment without any kind of ID check or other difficulty at any ER because that is the law. Medical treatment is the goal here it can't be such a bad idea to have people make a choice between staying here illegally or getting medical treatment. Those imaginary diners had to make a choice just like the imaginary diner's owner. The very real consequences of too much compassion (like when we don't demand a real name or address) are the eventual denial of care to some other sick people.
Studies show that many who "ditch out" on ER bills have given false addresses and names. A number of these are so poor so they would not have to pay anyway. What other reasons would so many have for NOT giving a real name or address? California did a traceback study on this a while back and a Google search should show the results. I don't know what they are but I'm betting it shows the majority of those giving false information had criminal difficulties like being on the run or being an illegal immigrant.
Let's study and change the medical system to a decent system and then it won't matter which of us is right about illegals and medical care because if we are all paying our own bills the costs will drop from market forces and even the poor will be able to tell the truth.
Dr. Hill fails to properly diagnose the cause of America's health care woes. He blames the free market for the high cost of medical care in the United States.
That a free market in health care does not currently exist in the United States should be obvious to any astute observer. The vast array of government regulations and subsidies, that apply to health care providers as well as insurance companies, private employers, and beyond, assure that the incentives that would exist in a free market are grotesquely distorted.
Let's stop pretending that free markets are to blame for our current health care crisis. To claim that present government regulations have no deleterious effect on medical care is to blind oneself to the harsh realities that accompany any well-intended but counterproductive government meddling.
Posted by Katherine Konopka on June 19, 2007 03:49 AMMommy y - that is exactly that. I worked in a hospital and that is the exact reason given by administrations why health care expenses keep going up.
If you have TO many patients that can't/won't pay and the money can't be collected that leaves it up to private insurers to foot the bill for them. Therefore increasing the cost of healthcare.
One other thing to note is in the hospital I worked in you were gauranteed a 3% 6% or a 9% raise each year if you met or exceeded your job expectations. What other industry can you say that about besides "politics"?
Beuarcratics tend to interfere with private insurance decisions based on the "share holders" and money. I just received a letter this year that one of my asthma medications would be costing me more money because the insurance company decided it was to expensive and recommended an alternative. The insurance company decided that my doctor was not qualified to diagnose me with anxiety so therefore wouldn't pay for the visit. After speaking with my insurance company on this I asked them to explain to me how I would know my doctor is not qualified to give a medically recognized diagnoses and was informed that I wouldn't and I would find out after the insurance reviewed the claim.
We have a health care system that has way to many hands in the pot which also leads to higher costs.
Imagine if your doctor could cut your costs down by 20% or more just by cutting his/her "billing" staff and having the patient submit their claims on their own. It has been done by some practices with a huge success rate.
Example: (my personal experience)
Chriopractor I went to see (I called on rates) said their rate was $45 per visit. So I go in with my insurance card and I still pay $45 and they bill my insurance over $200. If I pay cash I pay $45 still and then I can turn that $45 over to my insurance for claims.
Yes - that was described to me exactly by the billing office of this particular clinic. So no matter what - i would have ended up paying $45 per visit. I will NEVER go to another chiropractor again!
There are a variety of reasons why health care expense is out of control. The one thing we as consumers can do is PAY ATTENTION to our bills and seek medical help WHEN ITS NECESSARY and not when we or our children have just a little cough.
Mommy y - that is exactly that. I worked in a hospital and that is the exact reason given by administrations why health care expenses keep going up.
If you have TO many patients that can't/won't pay and the money can't be collected that leaves it up to private insurers to foot the bill for them. Therefore increasing the cost of healthcare.
One other thing to note is in the hospital I worked in you were gauranteed a 3% 6% or a 9% raise each year if you met or exceeded your job expectations. What other industry can you say that about besides "politics"?
Beuarcratics tend to interfere with private insurance decisions based on the "share holders" and money. I just received a letter this year that one of my asthma medications would be costing me more money because the insurance company decided it was to expensive and recommended an alternative. The insurance company decided that my doctor was not qualified to diagnose me with anxiety so therefore wouldn't pay for the visit. After speaking with my insurance company on this I asked them to explain to me how I would know my doctor is not qualified to give a medically recognized diagnoses and was informed that I wouldn't and I would find out after the insurance reviewed the claim.
We have a health care system that has way to many hands in the pot which also leads to higher costs.
Imagine if your doctor could cut your costs down by 20% or more just by cutting his/her "billing" staff and having the patient submit their claims on their own. It has been done by some practices with a huge success rate.
Example: (my personal experience)
Chriopractor I went to see (I called on rates) said their rate was $45 per visit. So I go in with my insurance card and I still pay $45 and they bill my insurance over $200. If I pay cash I pay $45 still and then I can turn that $45 over to my insurance for claims.
Yes - that was described to me exactly by the billing office of this particular clinic. So no matter what - i would have ended up paying $45 per visit. I will NEVER go to another chiropractor again!
There are a variety of reasons why health care expense is out of control. The one thing we as consumers can do is PAY ATTENTION to our bills and seek medical help WHEN ITS NECESSARY and not when we or our children have just a little cough.