Why Health Care is Killing Us

You say that, “there are many islands of excellence where costs are lower and quality is higher in US health care. These include doctors, hospitals, and insurers that work collaboratively, employ technology, and specialize in specific illnesses and treatment,” and I agree. I’ve had doctors in the past that seem to want me to come in for the most minor thing (like prescribing a refill of my allergy medication) so that they can charge my insurance company for an office visit. I’ve also questioned whether certain tests and procedures were actually necessary or just a means to get money out of my insurance company. But, I’ve also had those doctors who are quite willing to talk to me on the phone, call in refills, recommend paying cash rather than using insurance when I might have to pay through a deductible anyway (mine is $2,500, and I’ll never meet that in a year so it’s best for my insurance company to not even know that I see a Chiropractor on a regular basis because they might raise my premiums, so I just pay him cash), etc. Doctors like these who aren’t out to pocket a bunch of cash out of the broken insurance system should be commended and recommended. Does anyone know of a public list of such “ethical” medical care providers on the internet? If not, maybe we should start one here on the American Dream Project.

My wife and I have been involved with the wellness and business fields for over 18 years. We hear people complain about poor health, the cost of medical bills, being over worked and underpaid. Whenever we ask if they would like to look at a possible solution to their problem or complaint the answer, more often then not, is no, or it depends. It depends on what. If you actually have to change your lifestyle, diet or attitude you’re not interested. Well, I guess I’m not interested is their reply. In my opinion, the problem with almost everything in this country today stems from greed in business, politics and their need to be right, the hell with the people who voted for them and the basic laziness, ignorance and entitlement attitude of Americans. The parents of our children are caught up in their own little world; the children are being pushed through school without receiving an education and the politicians aren’t even worth talking about. Greed is the key to business, not customer service. The teaching has turned into a babysitting job and teachers are frustrated and fed up. The School Board is controlled by the government and the parents just want their kids to be promoted to the next grade. Can the kids read or do basic math, no. Does it matter, not to the parents as long as the kid gets promoted or the school as long as the school gets rating good enough to can get money from the state. As I see it, this country is going down hill and going fast. America is controlled by foreign interests, all of our major corporations are out sourcing to other countries for cheap labor and uneducated Americans want handouts not jobs. Welcome to the land of opportunity. Grab as much as you can then take it to another country, the American Dream come true!

Unfortunately we have become a society of middle men. If you look carefully, it is not just the medical industry, but an epidemic that effects us in almost all aspects of life. The American Dream has lived by the greater part of society is about having money. That is a very real problem. So what about the solution? We need to retrain ourselves to dream in terms of the specific things, relationships, and experiences we want in our lives, and understand that money is a tool and not the dream. We also need leaders that understand that concept. We desperately need leaders that understand that concept, so that they are part of the solution, not the problem. I realize that is one of the basic premises of this site, and it bears directly on the health care issue. Here are a list of my key points in fixing this problem. - Change the leadership (eliminate corruption, elect visionarys without regard to political affiliation) - Eliminate Frivolous lawsuits (Not all lawsuits, just the crazy ones) - Eliminate drains on the system (Tighten up on illegal immigration in a reasonable and realistic manner) - Create a service branch of the government, that works like the military, and provides medical training to young men and women in exchange for service. - Use the Service organization to provide care to those that can’t afford it. - Put tight regulations on managed care providers, that put strict limits on their power. Those are my thoughts.

It is too mind-boggling to comprehend why the U.S. Congress can spend almost 1/2 Trillion Dollars to fight the Iraq War and can’t seem to find the money for medical care for every American. What can we do to ensure that sanity prevails in the U.S. Congress? Are letters enough? I doubt it. There must be a widespread demand from all voters that this nonsense will no longer be accepted. We must mobilize others through entrepreneurial social action.

The biggest problem with health care is the waste of money time resources etc. I work in the health care system as a sub contractor. The management in the health care system are not doing a good job making sure money is spent wisely. I have seen projects done, sit unused and then decide lets do it another way and not use this. I have seen a lot of jobs given to the highest bidder because the boss wanted a nice gift at Christmas. The hospitals are ran too much like the federal government. The health system needs to be ran honestly,ethically, and efficiently.

While the current health care system is both inefficient and ineffective, the true problem lies in the removal of free market mechanisms in the transactions between provider and patient. When these mechanisms don’t exist, incentives for efficient and effective care go by the wayside. A physician who receives payment from a third party (either an insurance company, a self funding employer, a government entity - be it local, state, or federal, or any combination of these parties), the incentive is to get as many patients through as many covered procedures as possible. This will maximize profit for the physician (individual or group). This behavior cannot be legislated away. Only the very real threat of losing a patient and the resulting income will result in the change being made. Similarly, a patient who knows that they are covered by a third party (either an insurance company, a self funding employer, a government entity - be it local, state, or federal, or any combination of these parties) will not use health care efficiently either. In the case of full coverage, all the time, the patient is not discouraged at all from going to see the doctor for every little ache or pain. Most third party programs take care of this by implementing a deductible, or setting a monetary limit on coverage over a specific period of time. Not very effective or very efficient if the patient is truly in need of care in excess of these limitations. The best health care system allows freedom of choice by patients in picking their physician. When this happens, the physician has to provide service that meets the patient’s expectations, or risk losing the patient. Good care is provided by some physicians under the current system, but better care would be provided by more physicians if third parties are removed.

I am far from an expert on health care, but I’d like for someone to give me the plus/minuses of giving incentives to companies that self insure. Ideally everyone wants to be in a situation where they can self-insure (have enough money to cover most major illnesses). That’s not very practical for most Americans. On the other hand it doesn’t seem too far fetched to me for most companies to self insure (i.e. cover the major medical costs for their employees). It would seem that they have more to gain by protecting the livelihood of their employees than would some insurance company.

While I agree that everyone could take better care of themselves to improve their overall health, this solution doesn’t apply when it comes to altering DNA, and it certainly doesn’t prevent disabling injuries, such as those caused by another driver’s inattention or a terrorist’s bomb. As someone who has always taken care of myself, but still wound up with disabling conditions (that darn DNA!), I have been to so many physicians that I have “doctor fatigue”. I think the first solution to this problem would be to get physicians and other health care providers to work together in an organized way, like automotive mechanics, so that the same test wouldn’t be repeated several times over because one doctor questions another or the test results. Patients who wanted a third and fourth and fifth opinion could choose to pay extra. Euthanasia would be available to everyone in the U.S. who suffers from a chronic disease with no cure, and the decision would be up to the individual rather than the hospital or insurance company. This alone would prevent spending considerable monies extending the quantity of life with no consideration for one’s quality of life. Every doctor would be paid the same amount based on his/her specialty, with no pay-per-patient contracts, etc. and could choose to see patients in an office or in the patients’ homes. Rather than become sicker or die fighting for one’s benefits, the government would permit everyone to place the amount that would have been deducted for Social Security into an FDIC insured account. This would allow those who may otherwise not recover to avoid the stress of completing an overwhelming amount of forms and getting the approval of several doctors. The signatures of no more than two physicians would be needed for a patient to access his or her disability monies. Finally, laws to force employers to increase vacation time and sick leave, along with a 35 hour workweek, would be created and enforced. This would no doubt increase employee productivity and health.