Wow, I didn't know that!

Well, I actually knew some of this, but now have many more details about why things work they way they do.  Click here and take the 15 - 20 minutes needed to read this whoel article. No politics here, just factual info that will help to make you a more informed consumer. 

An update on the Unaffordable System

Here are some macro numbers to add some weight to the premise of my previous post about the United States' healthcare problem being more about the system for how it is delivered and paid for.  If you only look at the charts and don't read the actual article, remember that the figures for total governament spending in places like England and Canada covers ALL the citizens whereas in the US governament spending only covers Medicare, Medicaid, and VA.

Follow the link and check out the story and figures.

From Jello to Cell Phones

  On Sunday we celebrated my younger daughter’s 12^th birthday.  We had parents, God parents, cousins, and friends over to mark the occasion.  The age span of our guests ranged from 7 months to 83 years.  For what ever reason, my older daughter received a cell phone on her 12^th birthday, so the very short tradition in my family then follows that on her 12^th birthday, my younger daughter would also get a cell phone.  As gifts were being opened, which included a cell phone, my 79 year old uncle shared that, as kids, their birthdays were marked by my Grandma making jello.  I asked if maybe Grandma added some fruit or celery.  No, was the answer.  I asked if he got to choose the flavor. Again, no.  Just jello.   I later thought about how Americans are asked, are you better off than you were a year ago, or do you expect your children to have a better life than you.  Not that jello or a cell phone is the yardstick to use for the answer, but I just thought “from jello to cell phones”.  Life sure has changed.

The Unaffordable System

The country can no longer afford to pay for retired persons’ healthcare insurance. 

This is what we are being told.  The GOP’s budget that was passed in the House looks to change the system of Medicare.  It changes it in that it eliminates it.  Today, the government collects taxes (think of these as premiums) and then acts as the single insurance company to pay for all claims for services doctors and hospitals provide to retired persons.  There is an agreement between the government and the public about what services will be covered.  There is an agreement between the government and the providers about how much will be paid for each service.

The problem is that the cost of medical care is going up faster than the premiums that must pay for it.  

The GOP’s plan to solve this problem is to turn the insurance responsibility over to private companies, provide a subsidy to them for part of the premiums, and cap the level of the subsidy to rise only with the overall level of inflation.

Now, there are two big problems with this approach.  1) The inflation on medical care is rising far faster than the overall inflation rate.  2) Whereas today the government puts nearly ever premium dollar towards paying claims, private insurers will have far greater overhead – today this overhead averages about 30%.  This means that 30 cents of every 1 dollar will not pay for actual care, but instead pay for marketing, profit, and other non-care related items.

The GOP plan does nothing to control the cost of medical care for seniors.  It only controls the government’s cost by shifting the additional expenses to seniors who will pay it in ever rising premiums to private insurers.

The real solution to the high cost of medical care is to change the system by which medical care is delivered, not the system by which it is paid for.  Our country must change the way in which private enterprise operates in the delivery of medical services. 

You see, we get to decide the way the medical system is organized and operates in the US.  When the system does not operate in a way that servers the citizens of our country, it is our responsible and right to change it.  Nowhere is it required that we allow 30% of every dollar to go to profits, marketing, and other overhead in the private sector when it is not in the best interests of our entire population.  The answer to the affordability of medical care for seniors, and everyone else, is not to make each person pay more, it is to change the rules of the game, and the way the game is played to remove unneeded costs.

You see, the unaffordable system is not Medicare, it is the healthcare delivery system itself.  There is no place for profit in it and it should be removed.