3 Oct
My Health Care Story
I’d like to tell you about my recent experience with the health care system.
I am a 24-year old, full time college student who has no job. Because of this I have no health insurance. This really isn’t a problem for me, since I usually only get a cold maybe twice a year. But recently I started having bad stomach pain. Long story short, it took about a month to figure out that I had gallstones. Thus, I would say I have a good perspective as one of the uninsured millions, on how well our health care system works here in the USA.
First off, there are definitely problems with the system. But, I cannot see how the health care plans that are being discussed in Congress right now would fix things.
The first problem I encountered was swift access to a doctor I could afford. My first recourse was the college health clinic. Visiting the doctor there is free, but they are quite busy. I got lucky the first two visits, but then ended up with an appointment weeks away. I also called an office near where I live, but the soonest I could get in was a week later. Eventually, I ended up giving up on trying to stand the pain, and went to Urgent Care. This is where I finally found out I had gallstones.
The second problem I encountered was cost. The visit to Urgent Care was almost $200, and the ultrasound that found the gallstones was around $360. As for the surgery to remove my gallbladder, I still haven’t found out the total cost, but it’s over $1000.
The third problem is related to cost. When I talked to the surgeon about how much things would cost, he was unable to give me a good answer. Just a very loose estimate.
So, if you like the current plans that seem to, collectively, be called Obamacare, you may be thinking, “If he had been insured he could have figured everything out sooner and the insurance would pay for it.” Sure, the insurance would have paid most of the costs, and I would have gotten an ultrasound sooner, but it would ultimately be more expensive.
Think about it, I’m young, I barely go to the doctor. That wouldn’t change much if I had insurance. For decent insurance, I’m looking at around $100+ per month. And the deductibles I’ve seen are far higher than my surgery cost. Even if the insurance covered it for me, I’m still looking at spending the same amount or more on insurance over a year as I would having surgery. That’s hardly helpful. And it also is one of the major reasons that I consider Obamacare to be so flawed, it acts as adding a bunch of regulations to the health insurance industry will fix everything.
Obamacare does say that it will lower the cost of insurance. I do not understand how that is possible, proponents keep saying it will be deficit neutral, but they never actually explain how. Insurance companies work by making a profit. Thus they adjust rates according to how much they end up paying the health care system. Yes, they could get by on slimmer profits, but I doubt that would lower premiums and deductibles much. The only way to make insurance work would be to have the government paying the extra cost. And that just means that I am still paying more via taxes. Or, considering how the federal budget looks now, my grandkids will be paying for my health insurance for when I was a 24 year old.
Obamacare solves the access problem by making it worse. It adds millions of new patients to a system that is already barely able to keep up with those who are already in it. Not to mention the thousands of doctors who have said they will likely quit if the bill is passed.
Here’s how we solve the access problem. More doctors. The government should make it easier, and more lucrative to become a medical professional. More doctors equals easier access, and also equals more competition, which means lower costs. If there is anything in Obamacare that does that, I have not read it or heard about it.
Obamacare solves the cost problem by mandating that everyone have insurance. First off, I’m a free American, forcing me to spend money on insurance when I don’t want to is wrong. It is the Government totally overstepping it’s bounds. That’s the kind of stuff that King George was doing that started the American Revolution. Secondly, as I explained above, insurance does not help people who do not need lots of medical care.
The way to solve the cost problem is relatively simple. Increase competition. Break the insurance industry away from being connected to employment. Allow insurance companies across state lines. Cut down the amount of time doctors have to spend doing paperwork. Stop frivolous medical lawsuits. Help the manufacturers of medical equipment lower their prices with tax cuts. More doctors. And I am sure there are a ton of other ways out there.
Again, for the third problem, Obamacare doesn’t seem to do anything. And to be blunt, I don’t know that the government could do anything to fix it. But the medical establishment should figure out a way to estimate costs for patients better than they do.
So, people, don’t support Obamacare. There are so many things wrong with it that I could write a book on it. Plus, it doesn’t even address the real problems in health care. Instead, look for the real problems in the health care system, and find ways to fix those problems.
Posted by Court on 03.10.09 at 2:53 pm
Yep, you’re on the right track… the only real solution is restoring the free market in medical and health services. But I’m sure you can figure out just how likely it is that will be the path taken. Prepare for massive boondoggle.
Posted by Dad on 03.10.09 at 2:53 pm
You said it — increased competition. We need to triple the number of medical schools in the nation. We also need to end the practice of using doctors doing their medical residency as slave labor working them for 36 hour shifts. (Remember your cousin Michele’s experience?) Who wants to put out the incredible effort it takes to make it through med school so you can be treated that way?
Everything you mentioned — especially tort reform — will help, but there’s an even bigger problem that I haven’t seen a solution for — greed. There are multitudes of examples of medical clinics that are operated for one purpose and one purpose only — to enrich the owners. If they work to bring about a patient’s healing it’s only because of the expectation that they will be paid. Doctors no longer take the Hippocratic oath and their prevailing philosophy is more and more leaning toward an acceptance of finishing patients off rather than expending resources to prolong life. Healing is no longer the central focus of the medical professions. The ironic thing is that those same greedy medical clinics are perpetuated by the government’s medicare & medicaid systems. They’ve learned how to make that system work for them to maximize the tax dollars they can put in their bank accounts. Obamacare will only make this worse.
Posted by Jim on 03.10.09 at 2:53 pm
“Obamacare does say that it will lower the cost of insurance. I do not understand how that is possible, proponents keep saying it will be deficit neutral, but they never actually explain how.”
If you get people into the doctor sooner, they can get their medical problems solved early when the solutions are cheaper. Expensive co-pays and deductibles can keep people from seeking medical attention until the situation is dire (like yours).
“Obamacare solves the access problem by making it worse. It adds millions of new patients to a system that is already barely able to keep up with those who are already in it.”
What you’re really saying is that you’d sacrifice the health of millions of other people as long as you don’t have to wait a bit longer for care. Think about that.
“Not to mention the thousands of doctors who have said they will likely quit if the bill is passed.”
There are maybe a handful of Republican shills who have said that, but thousands? Sources please. It makes no logical sense for doctors to give up their $200k/year jobs just because the government offers an insurance plan along with the private companies.
“Here’s how we solve the access problem. More doctors. The government should make it easier, and more lucrative to become a medical professional.”
First off, being a doctor IS lucrative, and aside from the government giving them money, how would you propose they make it more so? And second, how does having more doctors, who are getting paid more, somehow make healthcare more accessible to people who have little money? It doesn’t make sense.
“First off, I’m a free American, forcing me to spend money on insurance when I don’t want to is wrong. It is the Government totally overstepping it’s bounds.”
Nonsense. You’re forced to pay taxes, which buys roads, schools, police, fire departments, military, etc.
“The way to solve the cost problem is relatively simple. Increase competition.”
There’s already a good amount of competition. The barrier we’re running into is that cheaper, quality insurances doesn’t make money for insurance companies.
“Break the insurance industry away from being connected to employment. Allow insurance companies across state lines.”
How does that help?
“Cut down the amount of time doctors have to spend doing paperwork.”
What paperwork should they not do? I’ve seen the stuff that my doctor keeps track of, and it all seems pretty important…you know, like patient info, insurance info, etc. If the paperwork isn’t important, why would they be doing it? I don’t think it’s as simple as you think.
“Stop frivolous medical lawsuits.”
Whether or not a case is frivolous is up to the courts to decide on a case-by-case basis, not the legislature. I think what you mean is to cap damages that can be awarded in malpractice suits.
“Help the manufacturers of medical equipment lower their prices with tax cuts.”
Which costs us more money for no reason.
“More doctors.”
Sounds good, but pretty much anything that the government does toward that end is going to cost more tax money, which I thought was something you opposed.