There is no one right number for the number of people living in the United States without health insurance.
The U.S. Census Bureau pegs the number of uninsured in 2006 at 47 million. That”™s more than the combined populations of California and Massachusetts, give or take a million illegal immigrants.
The percentage of people covered by employment-based health insurance decreased from 60.2 percent to 59.7 percent last year. More appalling is the number of children without health insurance ”“ 8.7 million.
But in a nation as affluent as ours, even one person without health coverage is a travesty. Everyone should have access to good health care. We need to figure out a way for them to get it, and a way to pay for it.
It”™s so damn costly to get medical treatment. Doctors and hospitals blame the insurance companies for poor reimbursement. Insurance companies say the costs are too high and whittle down the reimbursements. In addition, many hospitals cannot turn away patients if they are uninsured so we are picking up the tab for millions of dollars in health-care costs.
Here”™s a thought: Why not have medical providers, from doctors, dentists and anesthesiologists to hospitals post their prices either in the office or on their Web sites?
It would help in leveling the playing field for the patient. True, even if we do find lower cost procedures, some insurance companies may turn it down due to out-of-network policies. But it”™s a start.
We all shop at specific retail outlets and grocery stores based on product availability and price. If we think we can getter a price at another store, we shop there. If stores compete, then the prices become comparable, if not lower.
Medical Discounts International is already doing it for CT scans and MRIs on the Web site wecaremedicalmall.org. Cash discount! All a patient needs is a doctor”™s referral. And if you”™re willing to traveling outside the United States, they can hook you up for everything from angioplasty (just $4,200) to bilateral hip joint resurfacing for $13,500, a savings of $73,000, according to the site.
Instead of grandstanding as the presidential candidates have, sounding more like snake oil salesmen in hawking their health-care reform packages, perhaps they should address the cost issue. Whatever the “savings,” the cost still falls on the backs of the consumer. The question is which plan will cause the less painful screwing.
Democrats Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards all promise health care for all Americans using slightly different approaches.
Clinton”™s plan “builds on the current system to give businesses and their employees greater choice of health plans, including keeping the one they have, while lowering the cost and improving quality.” She even promises a tax credit to small businesses to offset their costs.
Obama proposes a national health program that would “allow individuals and small businesses to buy affordable health care similar to that available to federal employees.”
Â
Edwards promises universal health care via an alternative, Health Care Markets, which would afford businesses “quality plans at low prices and with minimal administrative burdens.”
On the GOP side, Mitt Romney pitches a plan that would make all health-care expenses tax deductible. He also wants to utilize the funds providing free care to the uninsured at emergency rooms by helping the needy buy private insurance.
Fred Thompson wants to create more options by promoting “cost-effective prevention, chronic-care management and personal responsibility.”
Rudy Giuliani is offering a $15,000 income exclusion for workers without employer coverage so they can afford insurance.
But don”™t let the tail wag the dog; let”™s post the prices first.
As clothing discounter Sy Syms said innumerable times in his TV spots, “An educated consumer is our best customer.”
Name one other service industry or producer or retailer that sells without posting prices. Mechanics post their hourly labor rates; plumbers are more than happy to say what a house call will cost; the dry cleaners will say what the charge is for that spot removal.
Less opaqueness and more transparency. Control the cost.
Could it hurt? If it does, call up a med student, they can”™t charge.
Â
