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In my line of work as an underwriter with a major healthcare insurer, I have the opportunity to see a lot of interesting aspects of healthcare pricing and how adjustments are made. I'm not a fan of Obamacare but I'm willing to admit that it will do a few good things. Covering people up until the age of 26 on their parents plan is a good thing...so is mandating providers to pay 80% of their earnings on healthcare claims as opposed to admin costs and salary...
However, the issue that I have most with the ACA is that it does nothing to address the real issue. The major issue in this isn't that people don't have insurance...that is just a symptom of the problem. The real issue is that healthcare costs in and of themselves are artificially inflated because no market mechanisms exist. Regulations inhibit shopping...it is literally impossible to purchase Blue Cross Blue Shield of Idaho if you are a resident of Nebraska...which really doesn't make sense. People file healthcare claims these days for everything...literally everything...it's tantamount to filing an auto claim for an oil change. Healthcare, whether it is paid by a single payer or by individuals shouldn't be as expensive...medical providers charge exorbitant figures to insurers because they know insurers have the contractual obligation to pay their percentage. The system as it currently exists fosters nothing but misbilling and overappropriating figures because they know the revenue stream is consistent. Now with the federal government effectively shoring it up...the revenue stream is even more sturdy which will do nothing but increase the pool of patients to build up this broken system.
You want cheaper healthcare.......tell your medical provider that you're paying out of pocket and watch how they respond.
Here's a real world example with myself. I currently live in Lincoln, NE and Bryan healthcare is one of the biggest in the area. I have been having some nerve issues in the lower back and left leg. Bryan ordered that I get an MRI w/o a contrast agent to determine the extent of my injury. This MRI from Bryan Medical was 3200. Now...I do have very good healthcare as I work for an insurer but I told the doctor that I didn't want to file a claim...I advised him that I would pay out of pocket. He looked me and gave me a business card for another diagnostic company...Great Plains Diagnostic Imaging. So, I called this company and they gave me a quote for an MRI w/o contrast agent and consultation for 600 dollars. Now I understand that 600 dollars is also expensive but this goes to show that healthcare itself isn't nearly the cost that is charged to insurers. Obamacare will do absolutely nothing to break down the ponzi scheme that is medical billing...it will simply inflate it and expand the pool.
I agree, nothing in the ACA controls costs. I do think many people regardless of where they stand on this bill agree.
That is my issue with it. If we had some way to manage costs...I'd support it. Obamacare simply doesn't do it. I think that they are noble in their attempt to insure everyone...they are just going about it in the wrong way and in their error...they're going to make their own system unsustainable.
1. ACA is affordable
And
B. Buying insurance is the same as paying for healthcare
ACA is only as affordable as the risks it's designed to insure. The problem is without a price control mechanism the risks they are meant to insure are effectively on an infinite upward trajectory.
Obamacare will do nothing but increase healthcare costs.
You're right, of course. But many folks do not care because they believe it's okay for others to foot their medical bills. The world owes them. They never really see the actual cost of the treatment. All they know is that there is a big cloud that rains money down when they are in need.
Of course, the folks seeding that cloud see their costs go up, but will simply have more chains attached to their ankles with little say in the matter. That's "equality."
Most people will end up on the Bronze plan that has on average $4500 deductibles. These are not a lot different than current catastrophic plans. One of the main reasons rates have gone up on the ACA is because now everyone can get insurance and the one and two million caps have been lifted. If you really wanted to bend the cost curve you would have to force everyone onto high deductibles. Every single ACA plan has people paying up to $6,250 out of pocket or $12,400 for a family. I don't see people running down to the clinic with every sniffle or money come raining down.
ACA is only as affordable as the risks it's designed to insure. The problem is without a price control mechanism the risks they are meant to insure are effectively on an infinite upward trajectory.
Democrats have of course have a price control mechanism the Independent Payment Advisory Board. Republicans have fought its implementation and call it a Death Panel. The only difference between Ryan Care and the ACA is the IPAB. With Ryan care you let the insurance company decide what procedures are done with IPAB its the government.
You say that as if it's the most natural thing in the world. Sad. Very sad that folks these days really believe that's the way it's supposed to be--that we are so much cattle being forced through life.
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