The latest attempt by the US Government to control the healthcare industry of this country is headed up by members of the GOP who believe in big government. They will fail. This is a modern political version of Wack-A-Mole, where you stand in front of the game console, foam rubber mallet in hand, waiting for one of the little rubber moles to stick their heads up. But in this case, the moles are represented by healthcare industry reactions to legislation that is being cooked up by big government types in Washington DC.
These are the people that you and I continue to send to DC. Like the classic definition of insanity, we continue to send the same incumbents to DC, expecting them to finally to wise up and do the right thing. They won’t.
Here’s the problem: big government types, more commonly known as statists, think that the only reason we, the people, have a problem is because they, the smartest people in the world, haven’t focused their big brains on the problem. And what is “the problem”? They think the problem is that some people can’t get health insurance. This is just pure nonsense. The real, underlying problem is that medical care in the USA is too expensive.
According the the Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that tracks the health industry and makes grants to fund research in to making improvements, they found “ Higher spending appeared to be largely driven by greater use of medical technology and higher health care prices, rather than more frequent doctor visits or hospital admissions.” see here
But what could Congress do about rising, or already high prices for health services? They could take a lesson from flat screen TVs. Think about it. Imagine you decide that your going to trade in that old GE 9" black and white TV that you have sitting on the TV dinner table next to your couch. You’ve heard that these “new fangled” flat screen tvs are just the cat’s meow. But how much does one cost. If you had “TV insurance” supplied by your employer, the answer would be “depends”. What TV insurance plan do you have? Platinum, Gold, Silver or Tinfoil? How much are your TV insurance premiums per month. Or maybe you own your own business and you buy your own TV insurance. So you have to figure the amount of money you spend for TV insurance, each month and factor that into the overall cost of the TV.
Then you go to the local TV store, give them your TV insurance card and they tell you that for 32" or less your co-pay is $50, for 33" to 48" your co-pay is $150, and for over 48", your co-pay is $250. Great! If you’re a simpleton, you think you just paid $50 for a 32" flat screen. But did you? Of course not. You pay $200 per month (single) or $500 per month for a family (with your wife in prime child-bearing years, the price is $750). Now if we ask “How much did you pay for the TV?” You will probably say either “I have no idea.” or “Probably too much.” Either is correct.
Now lets turn this around. Imagine you need an annual top-to-bottom physical. Or maybe a colonoscopy. Or some other preventative care procedure. If the medical industry was set up like the TV selling industry, you would first go online. Due to regulations passed by Congress in 2017 and signed by the President, all medical providers must have on page two of their website a breakdown of costs for their top 10 procedures, minimum. These prices must be posted in plain sight in the lobby of all medical care facilities. Doctor’s offices, hospitals, imaging provider, etc.. The cost for each procedure is broken down by health insurance provider and with a listing included for cash payments. CC or debit payments add 3% card processing fee. You do the same thing you do when buying a TV: you shop. You compare costs, Dr. experience, location and amenities. Does this facility have a free juice bar? Yes but the cost for the medical procedure is $100 more. Hmmm. How much do you want “free” juice?
The same market forces that brought flat-screen tv prices down from thousands of dollars to hundreds should be applied to the health care industry. You can walk into your local electronics store and buy a 32" flat screen tv for less than $200.00. And there doesn’t even need to be a sale on. When they first came out they were around $1,000.00.
There’s other procedures that cost a lot more, but the same principle applies. What if your transmission on your car started acting up. You take it to a mechanic, he has you sign some papers that he insists are necessary (along with a credit card #), puts your car up on the lift, takes out the transmission, puts in a new one (or rebuilds the old one), takes if off the lift, pulls it out front and hands you a bill (actually its a receipt) for $4,000. You look at the bill. On it, there are entries like “Transmission fluid — $300.00/qt.” or “12mmX35mm bolt — $47.00” Would your state’s Attorney General allow this to go on? Heck no. But they get away with it everyday in the medical industry.
We shop around for everything else, but not for medical services. Why? Because Congress, the medical industry and the insurance industry have designed it this way. And they all make money off the deal.
And while we’re at it, can we talk about “pre-existing conditions”? You can’t have your house burn down, then call the property and casualty insurance agent and buy fire insurance after the fact. They would just hang up on you. Ditto for car insurance and an auto wreck. So where did we get this idea that you can buy insurance for medical issues after you have them? This is the height of irresponsibility.
If you consume a 2 liter bottle of brown, fizzy sugar water a day, eat Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs for breakfast, munch on potato(e) chips all day and get 5 hours of sleep per night, don’t be surprised if you health insurance is really expensive. It’s the same way for life insurance. Smoker? 2 packs a day! No kidding? Occupation? Lumberjack. Nice. I bet that’s hard work. Any hobbies? Sky diving and snake charming? Fascinating! Here’s you estimate for $250,000 of life insurance. $500/month. Your sibling who works out 3 times a week at the gym, doesn’t smoke and is an avid stamp collector pays $40.00. Don’t be a hater.
But some people don’t contribute to their health problems. A sixth month old that needs a new liver didn’t cause that. Not even a little bit. And we, as a nation, or at least a state, should be willing to step in and help a family who, through no fault of their own, have drastic medical problems.
Those are issues that we need to deal with eventually, but right now, we need to bring the medical costs out into the open where the market, read “consumers”, can apply the same forces that we apply to appliances, sushi and flat screen TVs.