Worth the Risk?
August 13, 2009 - by
We’ve got a whale of a health care war going on – and it’s a pleasure to watch the Congressmen and Senators getting bearded in their own Town Hall Meetings.
In Round One President Obama charged out of his corner and whipped everyone in sight; then, in Round Two, he unexpectedly got rocked back on his heels when the Insurance Industry started throwing haymakers; now he’s back in his corner getting toweled off for Round Three. This is classic no holds barred, eye gouging, elbow throwing American politics – which if nothing else is entertaining.
The President’s calling the Insurance Companies blackguards.
And the Insurance Companies are saying the President’s going to force socialized medicine down our throats which means government rationed medical care – then they add, And you all know what that means – it means you’ll be dead and buried before you see a doctor.
Now there’re some fundamental facts about health care that are pretty odd.
Starting with Insurance Companies puffing out their chests and boasting they’re champions of quality medical care. Fact is the bottom line about Insurance Companies and health care is pretty brutal. Insurance Companies have to make a profit, and they make the most money by insuring the people who need the least care. The facts are unforgiving: The less care an Insurance Company provides clients the more money it makes.
I had a doctor friend, an anesthesiologist, who believed a patient should always have an EKG before an operation – but the insurance companies always told him no for patients under 50. Now, statistically, it wasn’t likely a man under 50 had a secret heart condition – so in a way saying the EKG wasn’t necessary was logical. But, on the other hand, if the patient was an exception to the actuarial tables and had an unexpected heart attack on the operating table he could die on the spot.
That’s not a nice fact. But there it is.
Here’s another.
According to the newspaper one of the people at Congressman G.K. Butterfield’s Town Hall Meeting in Rocky Mount was Rev. Thomas Walker. Rev. Walker has had prostate cancer and his wife has a neurological disease. His health insurance cost $3,700 a month. $44,400 a year.
But if he worked for state government instead of a church he’d get health insurance (for him and his wife) for around $500 a month.
What kind of sense does that make?
If a man’s sick as a dog and works for the federal government he can get the best health insurance on earth for a reasonable price; but, if he’s 50 years old, healthy as a bull and works for a piney woods church he’s going to pay two or three time as much.
I’ve got another friend who’s an example. Max has a heart condition. For years he ran his own family business, then one day I saw him and he announced, Well, I’m working for the government now.
Why on earth would you want to do that?
For the health insurance.
Here’s a last example from a local hospital.
A middle-aged man – who didn’t have health insurance – went to the Emergency Room with chest pains. He got the full Monty: MRI. CAT-SCAN. EKG. The hospital gave him every care and treatment and it cost over $5,000. The diagnosis: He had gas – which is not unusual.
The ER doctors referred him to a gastroenterologist but, naturally, the gastroenterologist wasn’t anxious to see an uninsured patient who wasn’t likely to pay – so the doctor never did see the patient.
Over the next 6 months the same patient turned up in the ER room 8 more times. Same symptoms each time. Same treatment each time. Same cost. Same result: Gas. A total of nine trips to the ER for a cost of around $45,000.
Wouldn’t it make sense to figure a way to pay the gastroenterologist – say $5,000 to cure him – and save the other $35,000?
It’s hard not to conclude we’ve got a pretty odd health care system.
The Insurance Companies’ case against reform is pretty simple, and it’s a refrain on a pretty old song: No matter how bad it is now, if you change it, it will be worse. They may be right. President Obama’s plan may turn out to be worse. But, then again, how much sense does it make to go on butting our head against this wall?
So here’s our choice: We can go on like we are now – or we can take a shot at fixing it – risk and all.
Worth the Risk?
August 13, 2009/
We’ve got a whale of a health care war going on – and it’s a pleasure to watch the Congressmen and Senators getting bearded in their own Town Hall Meetings.
In Round One President Obama charged out of his corner and whipped everyone in sight; then, in Round Two, he unexpectedly got rocked back on his heels when the Insurance Industry started throwing haymakers; now he’s back in his corner getting toweled off for Round Three. This is classic no holds barred, eye gouging, elbow throwing American politics – which if nothing else is entertaining.
The President’s calling the Insurance Companies blackguards.
And the Insurance Companies are saying the President’s going to force socialized medicine down our throats which means government rationed medical care – then they add, And you all know what that means – it means you’ll be dead and buried before you see a doctor.
Now there’re some fundamental facts about health care that are pretty odd.
Starting with Insurance Companies puffing out their chests and boasting they’re champions of quality medical care. Fact is the bottom line about Insurance Companies and health care is pretty brutal. Insurance Companies have to make a profit, and they make the most money by insuring the people who need the least care. The facts are unforgiving: The less care an Insurance Company provides clients the more money it makes.
I had a doctor friend, an anesthesiologist, who believed a patient should always have an EKG before an operation – but the insurance companies always told him no for patients under 50. Now, statistically, it wasn’t likely a man under 50 had a secret heart condition – so in a way saying the EKG wasn’t necessary was logical. But, on the other hand, if the patient was an exception to the actuarial tables and had an unexpected heart attack on the operating table he could die on the spot.
That’s not a nice fact. But there it is.
Here’s another.
According to the newspaper one of the people at Congressman G.K. Butterfield’s Town Hall Meeting in Rocky Mount was Rev. Thomas Walker. Rev. Walker has had prostate cancer and his wife has a neurological disease. His health insurance cost $3,700 a month. $44,400 a year.
But if he worked for state government instead of a church he’d get health insurance (for him and his wife) for around $500 a month.
What kind of sense does that make?
If a man’s sick as a dog and works for the federal government he can get the best health insurance on earth for a reasonable price; but, if he’s 50 years old, healthy as a bull and works for a piney woods church he’s going to pay two or three time as much.
I’ve got another friend who’s an example. Max has a heart condition. For years he ran his own family business, then one day I saw him and he announced, Well, I’m working for the government now.
Why on earth would you want to do that?
For the health insurance.
Here’s a last example from a local hospital.
A middle-aged man – who didn’t have health insurance – went to the Emergency Room with chest pains. He got the full Monty: MRI. CAT-SCAN. EKG. The hospital gave him every care and treatment and it cost over $5,000. The diagnosis: He had gas – which is not unusual.
The ER doctors referred him to a gastroenterologist but, naturally, the gastroenterologist wasn’t anxious to see an uninsured patient who wasn’t likely to pay – so the doctor never did see the patient.
Over the next 6 months the same patient turned up in the ER room 8 more times. Same symptoms each time. Same treatment each time. Same cost. Same result: Gas. A total of nine trips to the ER for a cost of around $45,000.
Wouldn’t it make sense to figure a way to pay the gastroenterologist – say $5,000 to cure him – and save the other $35,000?
It’s hard not to conclude we’ve got a pretty odd health care system.
The Insurance Companies’ case against reform is pretty simple, and it’s a refrain on a pretty old song: No matter how bad it is now, if you change it, it will be worse. They may be right. President Obama’s plan may turn out to be worse. But, then again, how much sense does it make to go on butting our head against this wall?
So here’s our choice: We can go on like we are now – or we can take a shot at fixing it – risk and all.