For most of my working life I tried to control health care costs for my employer. We tried every trend, every new theory. In the end the employers costs were only managed by shifting more of the cost to workers and their families. The rate of increase was not affected, the trend was always up … and we were self-insured covering about 45,000 lives.
Nothing much has changed.
No scheme tried by employers, insurance companies or government has had a significant impact on costs … except shifting them to someone else.
There is also the issue of universal coverage for all Americans and the ability of individuals to pay premiums and out-of-pocket costs.
The idea of consumerism in health care is silly, price transparency means nothing. Competition is counterproductive.
Will price transparency requirements drive down costs?
Federal price transparency requirements exist to allow consumers to compare prices across hospitals and providers. Health plans and employers may also be able to use some of the price transparency data to negotiate lower rates. There is bipartisan interest in price transparency and recently the U.S. House passed a bill (HR 5378) codifying existing price transparency regulations and extending the requirements to diagnostic labs, imaging services, and surgical centers.
However, the Congressional Budget Office expects price transparency to have very little impact on health sector prices. State-level studies suggest price transparency can result in unintended consequences if it results in competitors demanding higher prices. Additionally, fewconsumers use these tools to shop for care, and those who do try to price-shop may find that timely or convenient alternatives are not available.
For price transparency to make a meaningful difference in costs for consumers, targeted approaches with a more limited set of services that consumers truly shop for may be most effective. Price transparency is a largely bipartisan issue, so federal solutions to these issues are not impossible in 2024.
Health system tracker.org
There is no coordination of information, endless forms and systems for both patients and providers. This leads to duplicate, often unnecessary healthcare. Did you ever notice the Rx ads say tell your doctor all the medication you are taking. Why? Why can’t your doctor just look up your records? Because critical information is not linked.,
The reality may be that the health status of Americans – obesity rates – our perception we deserve any and all health care when we want it with no oversight, our application of profits to health care and the fact we don’t want to spend our hard earned money on health care means there is no actual solution.
What’s next?
I know this, we need one system that includes every American.
We don’t need different programs by state, for the poor, children, the elderly, the employed and unemployed, the public sector or private sector.
What is really important?
- Universal insurance coverage
- Access to health care services from providers we choose
- Sufficient, but not excessive availability of resources such as facilities and high tech equipment which drive utilization
- Premiums and out-of-pocket costs reasonably related to ability to pay
- Reasonable oversight for medical necessity and appropriateness of care
- Fair compensation for health care providers
QUINNSCOMMENTARY 
If the obesity problem could be solved, I bet healthcare costs would drop by a very significant percentage….but that involves personal accountability.& responsibility. Will never happen on a broadd basis.
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It is an interesting contrast to see how most other advanced countries spend much less and achieve much better outcomes. But American voters are still apparently happy enough with the status quo
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The CMS projects healthcare spending to grow faster than the growth in GDP every year through 2031. It will hit 20% of GDP that year. These were all projected according to 2021 figures. This didn’t take into account the excess spending on Covid.
If they are correct then medical spending will eventually consume our economy by the end of this century. That’s a stretch but that’s where it is now. We have the highest administrative costs, highest drug costs, highest paid healthcare providers and highest hospital costs in the world. Something will have to change.
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most likely we will see brother Quinn’s ideas adopted many years from now–again if there is a crisis then change takes place–my father stopped smoking after having a heart attack after claiming for years cigarettes had no effect on health.
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