Socialized medicine won't solve healthcare problems
It's amazing that health care insurance companies are asking the government to review their practices and behaviors. There behaviors and costs have been escalating out of control for years with no check or balance. The only problem for me with the health care insurance companies asking for this is that they are doing it out of fear that they will no longer exist. Why have they not policed themselves and stopped the extreme abuses in premiums and elsewhere that have existed for years ? It's simple, because they have not had too. They have not had to answer to anyone for years of abuses to those who pay the premiums that keep these companies afloat.
Unfortunately, I would love to see private insurers get their hands slapped and slapped big time BUT, not if the solution is to spank our health care system into socialized medicine. Talk to anyone who lives in Canada and England and ask them how effective this socialized health care system is. They will tell you what I have heard from patients who have lived there. Simple physio for injuries can take months to be accepted into. Medical procedures are determined on a worst case scenario basis. What this means is that someone, whom you don't want to, is deciding who gets treatment first and who is on the wait list.
I have a simple suggestion for private insurance companies. Reduce premiums and gradually put yourselves out of business and allow the health care system to head toward fee for service. It will be a gradual winding down of your life cycle but not as painful as Obama's quick death plan.
Labels: Health Care Problems, Insurance, Socialized Medicine
posted by Dr. Steve @ 9:08:00 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Dear Dr. Steve:
How do you think FFS would work in the case of catastrophic illness, though? I know that the routine ER visit for a broken bone could be paid pretty easily with FFS but something like cancer or stroke, or terrible car wreck would be tough. With that in mind, the drug companies also need to be held accountable and/or FFS their products out as well.
Also, for FFS to really work, we would ALL have to be disciplined enough to set aside what we currently pay in premiums for that unexpected medical event. Do you think the general public as it is now or will be in the future will have that kind of mentality or will we all continue to spend what we make?? If we are left on our own to save for medical care/RX, will we save better than anyone does now?
Your thoughts?
I think the main thing that FFS would do is drive down costs sharply for everything from surgical procedures, hospital stays, medical school education, pharmaceuticals. It would also force more people to consider preventative treatments prior to these expensive interventions. Not sure if it is the only solution but it is clear our insurance based system is not working
The biggest question I've had about socialized medicine is, if someone stops working for whatever reason and just decides not to work anymore, is there any incentive or direction from the government to get back to work again in order to pay for health care, or is the expectation simply that the government will endlessly pay for health care for individuals who CHOOSE not to work anymore?
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