[quote=bearishgurl][quote=GH] . . . Regular things like prescriptions, doctors visits, tests etc, should be paid for by individuals. The whole thing should work a lot more like car insurance, where the insurance company only gets involved where a big problem is involved, not for day to day needs.[/quote]
Absolutely, GH! But there are a LOT of people who think they need to make a dr. appt. for everyone in their family for a hangnail or the common cold. These are the ones “clogging the system” with low co-pays and a lot of time on their hands.
These types make it expensive for ALL of us![/quote]
And I definitely like this. The cost of health care will never go down until it becomes competitive. And competition will never come to pass until people become consumers – actual consumers who shop for and compare providers, tests, drugs, etc., and rate their quality and cost-effectiveness. Admittedly, it’s not the same as buying produce at the Safeway, and I don’t mean to downplay the complexity and importance. But until people have more of an investment in the system, things won’t change. People that are heavily insured and who do not experience serious illness, either personally or in their families, are too far removed from the shortcomings and problems of the system to be affected by them. It’s the people who are affected by them that effect change. We need to move people closer to the system, and the suggestions from GH and BG are a good way to do that. Not only will this help to remedy the problems of the existing system, it will significantly reduce the rate of trivial overutilization.
Also, I don’t know about everyone else, but I’ve experienced regular yearly increases in health insurance premiums since the early 90s, at least. This period spans three employers for me, and three for my husband. Every year, we have to pay a larger amount in monthly premium share, which typically reflects a premium hike by the insurer being passed onto employees. Less frequently, our co-pays go up.
Interestingly enough, for those Piggs who have voiced complaints about the health benefits of Federal employees: my husband recently returned to Federal government employment. He is at a high level (as a result of both extensive education and experience), but his pay is comparable to, or a bit less than that offered by private industry (where he has toiled for the past fifteen years). Of the many choices offered, out of medical necessity we enrolled in the most expensive health plan that provided the best coverage across the board. The coverage is must less comprehensive than either of us had in private industry/education, and we are paying much more in out of pocket expenses. For instance, I’ve never paid anything for mammography or ultrasound or MRI examination of the breast; however, I can now look forward to ponying up a couple hundred dollars for the privilege and pleasure of the GE Senographe DMR+ experience, i.e., the equivalent of having the my tits repeatedly put through a wringer washer. For those of you too young to know what that is, I’ve included a link to YouTube footage (is there ANYTHING people won’t put on film?); the comparison to mammography starts about 1 minute into the film clip.
I hope that I’ve cleared up a bit of the misinformation concerning the high life of Federal government employees.
