Hey, we all know it is the insurance company’s fault

 

I was in a meeting the other day and one of the people there said, (I get this a lot) “While I have you here I have a question about health insurance.”   It seems she was told by a hospital that our insurance carrier (actually administrator because we are self-insured) had dropped the hospital from participation.  “Whoa”, I overzealous said.  The fact is the carrier and the hospital could not come to agreement on rates and thus the contract was ended.  That, I hope you will admit, is a lot different than the carrier arbitrarily dropping a hospital and yet people do not understand that.

In the same discussion, the women said her son was in the hospital overnight and the bill was $23,000, but when she received her explanation of benefits, she noticed the plan only paid $3,000.  “How can that be?” she said, “Nobody pays $23,000 do they?”  Well, if you are uninsured and have the money and walk into the hospital, you pay that amount which is designed to make up for what Medicare does not pay, for uncompensated care and for the discounts provided to those of us with good health benefits from our employer.  Clearly, very few people understand the health care system and more often than not, the insurance company is the target of their frustration and anger.

I once was in an e-mail debate with a woman who wrote a book “The HMO killed my daughter.”  It seems her daughter went to an emergency room was treated, probably misdiagnosed and sent home.  She returned to the hospital a few days later very ill and ultimately did pass away.  I said to her I can understand your anger at the doctors, but what did the HMO have to do with it?  Her response was that the HMO encouraged the doctors to save money and skimp on care.  I pointed out that the emergency room doctor likely had no idea what health coverage her daughter had when he treated her, but that did not matter; it was the HMO’s fault.   That is the mentality of many Americans and it appears to me that our politicians are about to leverage those misperception for their own gain and that is very sad in my view.

Interestingly, today I receive an e-mail from Barack Obama (along with a few million other people I suspect).  Amazingly the words now being used promoting what used to be health care reform have suddenly changed to “health insurance reform.”   I have added the e-mail below for your review (I left out the button that said “Donate”. 

Now we have a new tactic that will play on the largely misguided ire that Americans have with insurance companies.  Proposed legislation already takes care of denying coverage and all the normal underwriting provisions that go with health insurance (or any other insurance), so now we will be blaming the insurance companies for the cost of health care.

This sales job by the President of the United States is becoming bizarre. It appears that the objective is no longer to make truly meaningful reform, but to get something done that can be held up as an accomplishment regardless of the ultimate consequences.

We all know there is a lot to be fixed and a lot of blame to go around (including the actions and in-actions of the American people), but let’s keep this real.  The truth is that what we have before us is not fixing anything except adding more people to a broken system at a cost that we may not be able to afford.

Reform has taken on a life of its own simply for the sake of doing something and keeping a campaign promise, which is not good enough.  Making it easier for people to obtain coverage is a good thing, but it does not save money, it costs money.  Eliminating underwriting rules costs money.  Adding millions of people to a system that virtually avoids any individual concern for the cost of care, costs money.  Adding people to a system based on an absurd discounted fee cost shifting maze costs money and accomplishing nothing.

Nobody is against serious reform and improvements in our system, but let’s get the politics out of this and get it right…good luck.

Here is the text of my e-mail

Richard —

This is the moment our movement was built for.

For one month, the fight for health insurance reform leaves the backrooms of Washington, D.C., and returns to communities across America. Throughout August, members of Congress are back home, where the hands they shake and the voices they hear will not belong to lobbyists, but to people like you.

Home is where we’re strongest. We didn’t win last year’s election together at a committee hearing in D.C. We won it on the doorsteps and the phone lines, at the softball games and the town meetings, and in every part of this great country where people gather to talk about what matters most. And if you’re willing to step up once again, that’s exactly where we’re going to win this historic campaign for the guaranteed, affordable health insurance that every American deserves.

There are those who profit from the status quo, or see this debate as a political game, and they will stop at nothing to block reform. They are filling the airwaves and the internet with outrageous falsehoods to scare people into opposing change. And some people, not surprisingly, are getting pretty nervous. So we’ve got to get out there, fight lies with truth, and set the record straight.

That’s why Organizing for America is putting together thousands of events this month where you can reach out to neighbors, show your support, and make certain your members of Congress know that you’re counting on them to act.

But these canvasses, town halls, and gatherings only make a difference if you turn up to knock on doors, share your views, and show your support. So here’s what I need from you:

Can you commit to join at least one event in your community this month?

In politics, there’s a rule that says when you ask people to get involved, always tell them it’ll be easy. Well, let’s be honest here: Passing comprehensive health insurance reform will not be easy. Every President since Harry Truman has talked about it, and the most powerful and experienced lobbyists in Washington stand in the way.

But every day we don’t act, Americans watch their premiums rise three times faster than wages, small businesses and families are pushed towards bankruptcy, and 14,000 people lose their coverage entirely. The cost of inaction is simply too much for the people of this nation to bear.

So yes, fixing this crisis will not be easy. Our opponents will attack us every day for daring to try. It will require time, and hard work, and there will be days when we don’t know if we have anything more to give. But there comes a moment when we all have to choose between doing what’s easy, and doing what’s right.

This is one of those times. And moments like this are what this movement was built for. So, are you ready?

Please commit now to taking at least one action in your community this month to build support for health insurance reform:

http://my.barackobama.com/CommitAugust

Let’s seize this moment and win this historic victory for our economy, our health and our families.

Thank you,

President Barack Obama