This is probably the most difficult question to answer that’s been sent into the PIB.
David P. of Portland, sent in this: “I have been a professional health insurance agent for more than 20 years. I currently service large group accounts and own a book with a very large premium volume. Since my primary income is tied to medical expense coverage and disability insurance for those large groups, I’ve been greatly concerned over the incredible rise in premium costs over the past decade. The obvious need for health insurance reform seems to be a never-ending round-robin of debate, controversy, litigation and somewhat of a band-aid mentality when it comes to true, effective change. I have noticed that you cover [in the PIB] the changes to health insurance that occur regularly, so here’s my question: What would you do to reform the industry?”
Oh no…you aren’t going to sucker me into THAT one. Noooooooo way. I will give you this, and I’ll try not to blather on.
I have heard many people speak on many different occasions of health insurance reform. I am familiar with the statistics on the number of people without coverage, and they are distressing. I understand fully that the costs of an uninsured catastrophic medical situation can be devastating. I think I have heard so many sides, of every side, of every question that could possibly be asked. And there is one simple question, out of all of the questions, that has to be answered.
How do you take care of more than 300,000,000 Americans healthcare needs?
Fundamentally, that’s the one. If you ask the insurance companies, you’ll hear about their concerns over providing a good level of coverage, but it’t still about how they must maintain the profit margin. If you ask the regulatory agencies, and remember- each state has it’s own- they’ll say that without regulation the companies would run rampant. There are exceptions, however. Certain states allow companies to operate in specific markets without state supervision, but that’s few and far between, and another argument altogether. If you ask the politicians, you’ll have to swallow a half-dozen aspirin after the interminable and indigestible assault on your senses. The politicos have always had their own agenda, and they’re all different. Don’t even get me started.
So, you’re asking me if I have the answers? Nope. Don’t got. Nada. Zip. Zilch. You have anything? What about national healthcare, or universal healthcare, or socialized medicine, or whatever you’d like to call it? Some would hail this as the plan to save the world. Others decry any form of socialized medicine as nothing more than another level of red-tape that no one needs or wants plus a host of other concerns. All I can say is “be careful of what you wish for, you just might get it.”
HSA’s were supposed to be a tremendous alternative to traditional healthcare coverage. What have they done? Hmmmmm, not much. Big donut hole with the deductible and all for a lot of people who can least afford it. But remember- the big deductible is what saves the bucks. Can HSA’s work? Absolutely they can; they can be tremendous plans, but the best producers know that the it’s gotta be the right product for the right person.
Privatize everything? Get the government out of it altogether, except for the consumer protections part? Another interesting proposition. Smells like an impending meltdown, when you think that it would most likely end up in the hands of a few monolithic companies. That would, I think, result in another round of government regulation, and here we go again.
OK, I promised I wouldn’t blather on, and I kind of did just that. So, in conclusion- you need to let me know what you think. Send in your comments, theories, propositions, ideas, rants, raves and other ideas, no matter how crazy you think they might be. Remember, crazy is what they called Orville and Wilbur. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have my frequent flyer miles.