Insurance Companies aren't the only ones to blame

It's interesting that all you hear in the media today is that insurance companies are the sole reason why health insurance costs are so high. Seems the news, newspaper and political stance points us all in this direction, and unfortunately so many of us blindly agree.

Truth is, there are MANY pieces to this unfortunate puzzle. I work within this space and see it everyday. And there have been some smaller voices who have reported on this (such as NPR), but unfortunately no one is listening.

Here are main contributors to health care costs:<br/>


High cost prescription drugs:
You think those pharmaceutical companies run all those commercials to waste money? Of course not. They run all those because they make TONS of money of those medications. Name brand drugs cost an average of $500, and if you have a mere $10-$50 copay, imagine how much money your insurance company is shelling out each month for your prescription. 

Facilities over charging: 
Hospitals over charge it's privately insured customers up to 280% above costs. Why? Well, they need to make up for the patients who don't pay at all, and the negative profits they make on Medicare and Medicaid. How will a public option change this? It won't. In fact, it might make private insurers pay more - think about it, more negative profit to cover! Before you get pissed at your insurance company for only allowing you 2 days of recovery in the hospital, question how much those days are actually costing. Is the hospital charging $5000 per day when it's only costing them $1000? I wouldn't want to pay that much profit either! Insurance companies do not have the bargaining power with hospitals like we'd like to believe they do. And any hospital that tells you they aren't making money, but then just added on a new Heart Hospital or bought out a competitor, is lying to you.

Consumers are demanding:
In today's information age, patients are coming to their doctors more "informed." However, this doesn't always mean it's with the right or appropriate information. 30% of medical procedures/tests are done unnecessarily because the patient demands it. And, out of fear of lawsuits, the doctors tend to cave, regardless of whether they feel it is in the best interest of the patient. It amazes me how many of us doubt our doctor (who has been through medical school, residency, many years of experience, and retraining), but not someone who wrote a forwarded email, someone who we've never met and might not even exist. What ever happened to the phrase "you can't believe everything you read on the internet?" It's still true!!

Insurance companies:
No one's perfect, and they definitely play a part in the problem. But it is NOT TRUE that they are the only part in the problem. Where insurance companies were the big dogs in the 90s, they are now overpowered today. Unfortunately, they make bad decisions to try to stay on top of costs. But merely blaming them is not the answer to the problem.

On NPR a Princeton professor of healthcare economics said that Obama's plan to add another health care insurance option into the mix is NOT the answer to the problem. If hospitals have the upper hand, how is adding yet another insurance company going to fix over charging? The power insurance companies say is getting taken away is not power within insurance, but power to bargain with hospitals and doctors. If 10 people are all going for the same job, how is adding an 11th person going to help?


The best solution? GET CONTROL OF HEALTH CARE COSTS! Set pricing standards for all hospitals, doctors and pharmaceutical companies to charge, regardless of who's paying the bill. It's not fair for the uninsured to pay 280% above costs. It's not fair for insurance companies to pay 158% above costs.