Surprisingly (perhaps) I have a pretty short answer for this one. Of all the possible complaints and difficulties any American might have concerning how he or she receives healthcare in this country, my biggest problem is the seemingly overwhelming assumption that the federal government should be the entity from whom a solution must come.
There seem to be about a thousand rumors circling as to what the new hypothethical healthcare bill may entail. There are some ideas I don't have a big problem with. There are other ideas I feel I would nearly give my life to protest. But with all of the prospective policies, I have one problem: that the federal government of the United States would institute them.
Submitted by Beth Rogers. Visit her blog - Veritable Observations.
#2 The Snapping Sound Of A Latex Glove
I would like a guarantee that when I go to the doctor I never have to hear the snapping sound of a latex glove being putting while the doctor is standing behind me. Hopefully by the time I am old enough that I need a prostate exam, doctors will have come up with a new way to perform the exam. I could probably go on and on about what I want out of healthcare, but that would take a while. So, instead I am just going to leave short bullet points and we'll see where we go from there.
- I want every American to have access to some form of a healthcare plan, even if it includes a government option.
- I want more for my money. I pay a monthly premium and rarely need to go to the doctor. Why can't I get some of that money back?
- I want my premiums to stop going up every year.
Now, obviously, this topic has to stem from ongoing, hard to ignore, healthcare debate that has been going. Where do I stay amongst the debate? I am for the reform. I have read the bills. I agree with Obama's plans. I am sorry, but I find no evidence validating any arguments from the opposition. I have no belief that Obama is going to kill my grandma because there is nothing in either the House or Senate bills that mention the creation of "Death Panels." I welcome anyone who wants to discuss this.
One final thought. I find it humorous that just a few years ago there was a desperate cry for healthcare reform. Now that there is present progress, we've experienced tremendous opposition. The reason why I mention this is because I am confused what has fueled the rage at these town halls; is it because they have actually read the bills, or because they are just mad Obama is president?
One final thought. I find it humorous that just a few years ago there was a desperate cry for healthcare reform. Now that there is present progress, we've experienced tremendous opposition. The reason why I mention this is because I am confused what has fueled the rage at these town halls; is it because they have actually read the bills, or because they are just mad Obama is president?
Submitted by Damian Trudell, Visit his blog - "My Thoughts"
#3 Too Bad, So Sad...
I can tell you this right now, I DON'T want the Government’s Health Care Plan. What I would like to see happen is congress taking a stand against insurance companies that have no problem taking your high monthly payments and huge deductibles – so much so that you almost can't reach your deductible before anything is paid for by the insurance, so it's almost pointless unless you are to end up in the Hospital.
Healthcare companies seem to have no heart. Pre-existing conditions are not covered on private plans nor is Maternity offered on private plans. Group plans for large companies don't seem too be nearly as expensive as smaller companies’ insurance plans. So its too bad so sad for those who work with a smaller company. The employee will often have his/her insurance for free compliments of the company they work for. What is preposterous to me is more often than not the employee could expect to pay $500+ a month just for one dependent. In some cases the employee has no other option but to put a dependent on the plan if they have a pre-existing condition that a private plan won't cover.
Hospitals overcharge for services. You pay for every cotton swab and cotton ball that is used – or so it seems. If the Hospital didn't charge so much for their services then they would probably see more patients paying their bills. For some people, going to the ER for a simple sinus infection or urinary tract infection or whatever else – can be seen by a Doctor to take care of. I do like the new Nurse Practitioner locations such as Minute Clinic where its more affordable to be seen. I for one am a fan of Minute Clinic and similar facilities and think there should be more. This is just my brief take on things.
Submitted by Stefanie Greene
#4 We're Paying For That
What would I change about healthcare in 250 words or less…can we make it 25,000 words? For one, I’d change the way health insurance is distributed. Think about your car insurance policy. Do you file a claim every time you get a door ding? No. Why? Your deductible for one - you’d have to pay most of the cost out-of-pocket. Your rates would also rise, and eventually your insurance company would cancel your policy. Why can’t health insurance be like that? Many people in this country use health insurance like a discount plan. Every time you pay that $20 co-pay, the insurance company has to work with the doctor to pick up the rest. In many cases, what the insurance company pays the doctor’s office doesn’t cover the doctor’s expenses. As a result, private practitioners across the country are closing up shop. Why not incentivize health insurance so that those people who make healthy choices get lower rates and incentives for seeing the doctor for preventive care. Get rid of unreasonably low co-pays and put the onus for taking care of one’s self back on the individual.
Secondly, the cost of prescription medications is outrageous. Ask yourself why a pill made at a factory in Canada costs pennies on the dollar when compared to the exact same pill manufactured in the US. There is no need for drug companies to spend tens of millions of dollars directly advertising medications to the general public. Most folks, me included, are tired of the endless ads for cholesterol and erectile dysfunction pills. We’re paying for that. Additionally the drug companies overcharge us to cover their research and development and litigation costs because our insurance industry will pay for it.
From a technological perspective I’d like to see stricter enforcement and modernization of HIPAA guidelines related to the electronic exchange of health-related data. Get rid of paper records and antiquated mainframe systems completely. Create a modern set of standards for all medical software companies to adhere to.
These efforts, combined with common sense (a trait that is sorely missing in legislative halls across the country) will help to make healthcare more affordable.
Submitted by Neal Harkner. Visit his Facebook Profile.
#5 Healthcare Equity System
I'd like to see insurance companies pay 100% of the bill to doctors/hospitals/labs/etc. – immediately and up front. Then, they should bill me the remaining portion that is due from me. Simply put, insurance companies should pay the providers, so providers don't have to become bill collectors. If physicians spend less time worrying about receivables, then they could spend more time providing care.
This would inevitably create problems for insurance companies - as they would become the bill collectors in the healthcare process. But because people already have financial arrangements with them, collecting payments (and making payment arrangements) would be much easier for insurance companies (in comparison to any other intermediary in the process).
Finally, the concepts of equity and financial incentive should be available to the consumer. Because if healthiness paid financial dividends, we'd be healthier... An example of a rudimentary Healthcare Equity System might look like this...during months/years where no major medical expenses occurred, the premiums we pay toward health insurance should operate like cash value of life insurance. In future years, when healthcare expenses may be higher, the cash value of the previous years' health insurance could be applied toward medical expenses that exceed the standard coverage amounts.
Submitted by Jason L. Buchanan. Visit his Facebook Profile.
#6 The Worst Kind Of Harm
I would change a lot of things about the U.S. healthcare system. And, unsurprisingly for those who have read my posts on this blog, expanding government-subsidized "public option" health insurance coverage would be one of them (and I say "expanding" because, hello people, this is not a new idea; Medicaid and Medicare have been around since the Social Security Act of 1965). But, before everyone pulls a Glenn Beck on me and starts calling me a Communist, I'd like to emphasize that this is hardly the focus of what I would change about the healthcare system. The United States spends more on healthcare than any other developed country yet we're also among the least healthy citizens of of any developed country. There's no excuse for that. Creating a public option won't cure the problem of rising healthcare costs, so I'd like to see more energy spent on combatting the costs rather than simply increasing access to a flawed system. I mean, increasing access to healthcare is vital, but eventually if we don't combat the rising costs of healthcare in this country, it's all going to be for naught and will bankrupt us in the process.
As an attorney, I'd like to see tort reform to somehow curb the huge amounts of money doled out to "victims" in frivolous lawsuits filed by unscrupulous lawyers. I worked for a personal injury attorney for a day when I was in law school. I promptly quit the same day I started when I was assigned to research the monetary value of an eyeball in a ridiculous lawsuit against the New York City Board of Education (a kid picked a fight at school, got his eye knocked out, and then his parents wanted some loot). Doctors shouldn't have to order every test known to man in order to cover their asses in case they're sued down the line. Billions of dollars are wasted every year by insurance companies having to pay for these unnecessary, expensive, and potentially harmfull (we're being x-rayed to oblivion; radiation much?) tests. In turn, insurance companies raise our premiums so they don't have to suffer the profit losses caused by the rise in tests. So, shame on the lawyers, shame on the plaintiffs in these cases, and shame on the insurance companies for passing the buck to the public which is far less equipped to absorb such a cost. Tort reform is one way to keep these people in check.
Secondly, I'd like to see doctors acting more like doctors and less like businessmen. Doctors these days have what they call "diversified revenue streams" meaning that not only do they bill for visits, tests, and procedures to keep us healthy, but they actually own their own testing equipment. Doctors who own their own CT scanners, x-ray machines, etc., order two to eight times the imaging tests than doctors who don't (according to a 2002 University of North Carolina study). Coincidence? I think not. This is because the more tests they order, the more times they can bill to and then get paid by insurance companies. A single CT scanner can make a doctor $400,000 a year. Further, for doctors such as these, if a patient with diabetes comes into their office, they can either treat them by diet and exercise and make little to no profit, or they can conveniently ignore these preventative measures and wait until the patient needs an operation to amputate a limb and make a comparatively gigantic profit. Knowing that greed is a tempting beast, which do you think they'd choose? I'd go so far as to say this type of behavior on the part of doctors violates the "do no harm" spirit in that it's causing a huge harm by jacking up costs so that millions of Americans can't even afford healthcare when they need it. Preventing people from receiving the care that they need is the worst kind of harm. To combat this type of practice, Dr. Andrew Weil suggests that we restrict ownership of testing equipment to hospitals, other nonprofits, or independent private entities. Given how little human beings can quell their greed at times, I'd say that sounds like a good idea.
Third, some of the blame for rising healthcare costs should be owned by us... We're a nation of (to use Ashley Judd's words) the overfed and undernourished. As delicious as a Chipotle burrito is with it's 1000 plus calories, there's just no reason for it to exist. Americans consume far more protein and fats than our bodies need or than even should be humanly possible (well, on second thought, it's probably not humanly possible because it's killing us). The fact that we as a people prefer to poison ourselves with transfats, suppress our immune systems and encourage anxiety and depression by not keeping our stress levels in check, and then run off to the doctor so they can "fix" us is a shame. Instead of contributing to a "patch 'em up and send them on their way" health system, we should instead strive to change our lifestyles and our healthcare system to focus on lasting health. Dr. Andrew Weil appropriately calls our healthcare system not a healthcare system at all, but rather a "disease management system." That's no way to live, and I'd like to think we could do better than that without government intervention. Unfortunately, however, I don't think we can. In 2000, the Surgeon General stated that the total annual cost of obesity in the United States was $117 billion in healthcare costs and lost productivity (for good measure, smoking costs us $52 million a year); I can't imagine what it is nine years later. Childhood obesity is rising at a shocking rate. According to the CDC, over the past three decades the childhood obesity rate has more than doubled for preschool children aged 2-5 years and adolescents aged 12-19 years, and it has more than tripled for children aged 6-11 years. This is partially due to large corporations like McDonalds and General Mills specifically targeting children in marketing campaigns, but this is also due to parents and children not knowing or caring what this is doing to our bodies, and thus, our healthcare costs. If the citizens are too dumb to stop buying "super sugar bomb" cereals as if they're a nutritious breakfast and Big Macs (the average American family eats fast food three times a week!) as if they constitute a decent meal, then I'm sorry to say the government must step in before this behavior bankrupts us. Look what getting rid of Joe the Camel did to reduce smoking... It looks like we may need similar intervention in the eating department. Many cities are banning transfats and requiring calorie breakdowns on menues. I think it's a good idea (hell, I know it would prevent me from ordering a molten chocolate cake a la mode or two).
So in sum: 1) tort reform, 2) put a check on greedy doctors, 3) stop treating ourselves like crap, and then, 4) increase access to healthcare coverage.
Submitted by Amanda Rogers, Esq. Visit her blog - Seven Eighty One.
