Here is an idea. What if the medical establishment was paid like all other industries… by performance. If doctors, pharmaceutical companies and hospitals were paid for satisfactory results only, the quality of care would increase and the cost would decrease. There is a hospital in Philly (I believe) that is experimenting with this right now and reporting exciting results.

Yes, but what if you are one of those people who can not get insurance due to a preexisting condition? I see you have an incentive to keep insurance private. You work for the industry.

And I agree totally with what Michael said. In regards to what Eileen said: “until each individual is both knowledgeable about how much their care costs, and required to make the payment for that care”

How can you know what your care is going to cost when you have an emergency and are uninsured. And as far as making payment for that care, would you be outraged if they charged you $111 for a medication that would cost you $3 if you bought it at a pharmacy? I think your attitude about payment would change.

We have tried for 5 months to get my husband insurance and he has been denied by all, except for one company that lied to us about what the insurance was. Part of his problem is that they say he has a history of diabetes, but he does not have diabetes any more and even when we say we have the blood work to prove it, they say once you have diabetes, you always have it. Yes, we might be able to get insurance, if we wanted to pay $600-$1000 a month. But who can afford that in this economy? And my husband is unemployed right now. I think the insurance companies use old medical information, formulas and some rules that out right denies people the coverage they need.

Shame on them.

Right now, I think insurance reform and health care reform is needed. I also think that Hospitals, Doctors and other services should not be able to inflate their costs for the uninsured. Most people want insurance (some can’t afford it) and just because they don’t have it, they get slammed with a high bill.

And making insurance available at a reasonable cost is also something that needs to be looked at.

Do I sound bitter and angry….Hell yes I am. Because of a recent emergency that threatened my husbands life, (and it wasn’t something that he did wrong)
we are now stuck with almost $30,000 in medical bills and more bills will be coming.

We need health care reform NOW!

This statement is absolutely right on target however, from there it goes downhill. To say that mandatory insurance does nothing about cost, I do not agree. I DO think that a big modification of the system is needed…not sure what yet. But free choice, business and personal is the foundation of this country. It’s the American Dream. Yes, I realize some of the choices we make are less than ideal. Regarding healthcare, we have transcended through several phases: 1) the government-managed Medicare system which pays a fee for service has allowed care to get so expensive because if you get paid more for every bit of care rendered, it is human nature to provide more care that may or may not be needed. 2) Private insurance was following the same path. Then, OOPS what have we done, the cost is too much for anyone to make any money. Phase 2: The “Managed Care” phase; Did it really rein-in the cost or did it result in “Mangled Care”? Probably a little of both. Granted, neither on of these systems is ideal, and currently the cost is so high that many are left without any insurance…well, this then raises the cost to you and me, and some think it is totally “Mangled Care”. What is the answer? I am not sure, but it probably is a blend of the two systems. But, my opinion is that any payment system must be linked to quality of care.

Then from Eileen:
>>We will never get control of medical costs until each individual is both knowledgeable about how much their care costs, and required to make the payment for that care.>>
I basically agree with this statement…knowledge & understanding of one’s healthcare costs is critical to reforming anything with the system. I would also add an understanding of one’s coverage and benefits goes with that. I have started a blog in which my goal is to provide the consumer with the knowledge to better understand healthcare, benefits and cost. I have been in the healthcare business for almost 30 years and have personally witnessed the plethora of individuals without a clue of their health insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid. I have made it my mission to reach every person possible to gain a functional understanding of their healthcare choices and responsibilities. A lofty goal? I don’t think so.

If many people participate, we collectively have the potential. If everyone who had a tid bit of information contributed to my blog, we can make a difference. It is very new, so only a few posts at this point…I decided to surf around for other information that may help and I found this and similar blogs. The difference in my versus the others is that my blog is directed to the consumer rather than the health professional. I need to get it out to the mainstream web in order to accomplish my mission. You can help with that. http://ezhealthcare.blogtoolkit.com

I appreciate the opportunity to contribute to the discussion. This one will be a hot topic, esp. when Hilliary fully incorporates healthcare into her platform.
Alice Comer
Little Rock, AR