What’s Wrong With Health Insurance in America? | Intellections

Reforming health insurance in this country begins with redefining our understanding of what insurance is and what it supposed to cover. Insurance isn’t for routine or predictable expenses. Over time, we have come to expect all of our health care to be provided through insurance, and covering more has helped make health insurance cost more.

[mattyoungdma]

This video is a gross over simplification and raises more questions than answers: How do people afford the "maintenance"? What is your definition of maintenance? What if someone has a degenerative disease or injury that requires continuous medical visits for a very long period of time? Should insurance companies only cover life saving emergency procedures? A car and a house are luxuries, should we treat peoples health like a luxury? You only get t be healthy if you can afford it?

[edwardnashton]

So.... If you want to get shots you will have to pay 100-500$ a visit?

[georgepr]

Small medical problems over time lead to catastrophe. Preventative care prevents catastrophe and lowers prices in the long run. Besides a lot of people can't afford the "routine and predictable" expenses. Who funds this channel?

[thecke]

Not even going to mention the actual cost of medical care and drugs in the US as a reason for high insurance prices?

[amous]

Here is the difference, healthcare should not have a primary motive of profit. I am all for profit, but keeping people alive should be the primary goal of insurance and healthcare.
This video compares preventative healthcare to buying gas for a car. Here's the difference, one is a human being.
From a fiscally conservative stand point, preventative care reduces the cost to individuals and tax payers, by addressing concerns before they become unbelievable expensive and we pay for it anyways.

[mjoseph]

The issue is that the current pricing structure for most routine care is completely out of whack. So, why is it so expensive, and are there solutions to bring the costs to a more manageable level?

Reasons for costs:

1. Health regulations. Many small, routine procedures and medications are heavily regulated in the United States. Prescriptions in particular face little market competition due to the stringent FDA requirements that keep competitors out.

2. Malpractice costs. Doctors are constantly under threat of litigation if they make one false move. They must, therefore, pay for extremely high malpractice insurance to avoid becoming a lawyer's chew toy.

3. Education costs. Doctors and other health professionals must invest substantial time and capital into earning their degrees or training. This cost is transferred to the public through higher prices.

4. Government policy. When the ACA was implemented, one of the first things that it required was that doctors shift to an electronic patient monitoring system. It also required a great deal more documentation on the part of the medical office. This in turn has had one of two disastrous effects: 1. Doctor's offices hire more staff to cover the additional clerical load, driving up prices. or 2. Doctor's offices close to avoid hiring more staff, and the doctors affiliate with hospitals and other high cost point of service locations to pool the costs.

Potential solutions:

As you may have noticed, many of the reasons for the costs are related to health care quality. In America there is a certain level of expectation to be able to walk into a doctor's office and have a potential malpractice suit keep them from being negligent. Or the expectation that the medication you are taking in is thoroughly tested for safety and drug interactions. You also probably want doctors to spend a great deal of time training and learning from the best (hence the cost)

Here are some (potential) solutions:

1. Permit doctors to have waivers for care for all routine care. This would eliminate the need for General Practitioners to have malpractice insurance, and would greatly reduce routine care costs. Now, the rub here is that the patient would need to make sure that the doctor they are getting advice from is competent, however, there are many ways (references, online reviews, etc) that a patient can get a sense for the professionalism of the doctor. Otherwise the doctor is not held liable if they gave you improper advice or misdiagnosed an issue.

2. All doctor's offices to operate independently and select their own method of patient record keeping (so long as it complies with HIPPA privacy)

3. Permit U.S. citizens to privately choose what medication they take in - even if it is experimental. Stores are unlikely to stock an ineffective or harmful drug anyway - and the market will promote them more effective alternatives. These alternatives will help drive down the cost. The issue in this case is that we may experience, a return of the snake oil salesman (one might argue we still have them in the business of essential oils and nutrition supplements) and some dangerous drugs may make it widely to market before the issue is discovered. However, that is already the case with many drugs and procedures - with recalls and adverse side effects being a common concern anyway.

Here's one solution I would not suggest: the single payer health system.

This system is fine in an enclosed society with a relatively small population that is generally economically prosperous. However, introduce socialized care into a flagging economy and there won't be enough resources to sustain such a system for very long - doubly so if there are open borders, as this encourages new arrivals who are usually not established to take from the plan for much longer than they potentially contribute.

[KillyDS]

Yes, except that a light bulb costs $1.00 while an uninsured visit to the family doctor can cost up to $50 or more and the prescription medication you are told to get can cost well over $100. To manage health costs we must first reel in the costs of "typical everyday" non-emergency incidents.

[hails]

but what about people, like me, who have chronic illnesses? our "routine" health care needs are pretty pricy. I pay close to $100 a month for my meds. not to mention my saline infusions, my saline pump, and the occasional ambulance ride. all of which my insurance fights me on vehemently.

[captainkayT]

Does that mean everyone will be in the emergency room ?

[bynmars]

The answer is easy. The problem with health insurance in America is that it exists instead of have a single payer system.

[TheGelatinousSnake]

That's interesting but by those definitions people will tell you they just don't want your "health insurance" and demand "health care".. In other words cut out those who profit off health "insurance" that profit could go towards actual medical care. Not saying its right or wrong but thats what ppl are demanding.

[mashleyden]

BUT WHAT IF YOURE CHRONICALLY ILL AND ALWAYS HAVE HEALTH EMERGENCIES

[roberthall]

We are the only developed country that does not cover all of its citizens health care. We do not cover complete health care because of insurance companies eating up a big chunk of our health care dollars. We are a rich country and can easily do what other countries have done for years. Protect all of our people. The health insurance industry is just a leach on our lives. CEO's reap millions of dollars in salaries, live in palatial buildings, and travel first class. They are not needed and thirty developed countries have proven this. No more false arguments. Provide complete health care for our people.

[FC-]

Whats wrong is the state. We can do without it.

[gregadams]

Make sense, break it up into at least two area. Catastrophic vs maintenance.

[jneal]

Wow... What a fucked up argument.

Insurance is expensive, so let's lower our expectations?

Wtf?

Nevermind that the US has the worst infant mortality rate of any developed country, let's just ignore the massive price inflation happening between providers and patients.

I'm sorry, but this makes for a garbage argument that effectively amounts to doing nothing at all.

Make it cheaper by doing less. Ignore the underlying problems with the black-box insurance system.

Ok... 🙄

[roberthall]

After reading all the comments of sensible people I concluded that the writer is in favor of millionaire insurance executives, not health care for the average American. Ben Franklin would be aghast at this nuts conclusions.