December 18th, 2008 by Trisha Torrey
I was excited to hear that the new secretary of Health and Human Services, Tom Daschle, was reaching out to the American people for input on what a reformed healthcare system would look like. Imagine — asking the people who must participate. What a unique and exciting concept!
That was… until I actually went to Change.gov and read about how these “Healthcare Community Discussions” were deemed to take place.
And now? I’m not sure that’s his intent at all.
Read what I have to say about it all.
December 6th, 2008 by Trisha Torrey
Shannon Brownlee, the author of Overtreated, manages to rearrange my perspective from time to time. She takes the facts I have learned, or the concepts I study, and makes me see them in an entirely different light. I may not always agree with her! But I never fail to learn plenty.
This recent article penned (or keyboarded?) by Ms. Brownlee is no exception. 5 Myths on Our Sick Health Care System – I invite you to take a look.
Among the five myths, here are the points that were new to me, or provided me with a new perspective:
1. Myth: someone else is paying for your healthcare.
I know this — and you do, too — but we haven’t thought about it this way. Ms. Brownlee is referring to the fact that we have employer-based health insurance. We make the leap, then, that our employers are providing us with coverage. BUT — in fact — if your employer didn’t pay for a portion of your coverage, then that money would be paid directly to you — and YOU would write the check.
2. Myth: Administrative costs drive up the cost of care.
The administrative costs of private insurance — often suggested to be at the heart of healthcare that is too expensive — would not save as much money as we may think. Ms. Brownlee suggests that simply cutting out that cost would not even pay to cover the uninsured. I have to respectfully suggest that while cutting those costs may not be ONE problem with costs, reducing them would be a good start. Overinflated salaries of those who are in a position to deny its customers care is a lot like the CEOS of car companies taking private planes to Washington. It is representative of the dysfunction, if not the core of it. (And yes, I do get her point that there are valuable services performed by the insurance companies — and I agree — but that doesn’t mean the ranks aren’t bloated and too expensive.)
3. More reform is cheaper. (This is not a myth — it’s a premise.)
This one is full of information I didn’t know. And Ms. Brownlee suggests that Senator Wyden’s healthcare reform proposal may be the way to go. You’ll want to take a look.
I know most of my readers are more interested in specific tools for improving their own care. But sometimes a grasp of the bigger picture helps us prepare for what’s in our future. Take a look at these 5 myths — see if you agree, or what questions you might have.
October 14th, 2008 by Trisha Torrey
We all think we know what healthcare reform means — we think it means something about universal healthcare, right?
You might be surprised to learn that “universal healthcare” isn’t what it’s about at all. It’s about shifting who gets healthcare, figuring out how to pay for it, and knowing that any success we find will be based on how we ration care.
Huh?
Yes — you read that right.
Universal healthcare — it’s terminology used to confuse, actually. Most people think it means we would move to a single payer system, but that’s not what it means at all. Read more about what universal healthcare means here.
Rationing? Yes — our care is rationed now. Sometimes we are the ones who ration it for ourselves, and sometimes our insurers or the government rations for us. You need to understand it if you really want to ‘get’ reform — because the more reform, the more rationing.
Questions? Let me know — because your questions are what helps me write material to provide answers. blog - at - epadvocate.com
