Health care

Perhaps I can write the following because I have excellent health care through my very generous employer. I know that it add thousand of dollars each year to my income, in the form of a benefit. Nevertheless, here I go...

Socialized health care is not the devil. The World Health Organization ranked health care by country in 2000 and France was #1 (public health insurance program), Italy was #2 (Italian National Health Service), San Marino is #3 (compulsory, state-funded health care) ... you get the idea. the US, who spends the MOST dollars per person on health care was #37. The WHO criteria was universal coverage, responsive health care providers, patient and provider freedoms, and the health and longevity of the country's population. Sounds pretty solid to me. So, shut up about socialized health care.

The fact of the matter is that our health care system is on its deathbed. The beneficiaries of the current system are not the sick. Allow me to illustrate:

I received a Statement of Benefits from my insurance company, which lists the submitted charges and eligible charges. What is the difference, you ask? Eligible charges are those that my insurance tells the doctor/hospital/pharmacy they will pay. To be a part of the insurance's network, they have to agree to this charge and not send me a bill for the difference. So, this example is a consultation with a new doctor and subsequent lab work.

Consultation submitted $149 consultation eligible $110
Lab submitted $92 lab eligible $26
X-ray at hospital submitted $348 X-ray eligible $125

So, the total submitted charges were $589. My insurance company paid $261. That's about 56% less.

My problem with all of this is the uninsured. They have to pay $589. They don't have a big, scary, powerful insurance company to keep the health care provider in line. They have to get a 2nd mortgage on their house to pay. These are the people who go bankrupt. Over things like one doctor's visit and two tests. And these were cheap, in comparison to other procedures!!

Why do health care providers charge the uninsured and insured at such an alarmingly discrepant rate? Well, first of all, they can. There are no controls because government has to stay out of the health care business. Secondly, they feel that they have to make up for the shortfall they suffer at the hands of the insurance company.

I'm getting mad, so more on this tomorrow.