Comments on: The Future of CDHC 2008 http://www.healthcare-blog.com/2008/the-future-of-cdhc-2008/ Consumer Directed Healthcare News, Health Advice, and Industry Opinions Sat, 11 Oct 2008 03:02:45 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: SFS http://www.healthcare-blog.com/2008/the-future-of-cdhc-2008/#comment-43162 SFS Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:00:06 +0000 http://www.healthcare-blog.com/?p=125#comment-43162 I would like to hear Regina comment on how the movement to consumerism and the release of employers from health care coverage responsibilities will impact the tremendous hidden tax occurring in today's health care market through excessive premiums that employers (and employees) are paying to subsidize government programs and the uninsured. It appears to me that the movement away from employer based coverage will need to be handled carefully in order to protect those employers or their employees from new forms of health care taxes when consumerism strips away the ability to hide some of the industry excesses and inefficiencies that inadvertently benefit groups like the uninsured. I would like to hear Regina comment on how the movement to consumerism and the release of employers from health care coverage responsibilities will impact the tremendous hidden tax occurring in today’s health care market through excessive premiums that employers (and employees) are paying to subsidize government programs and the uninsured. It appears to me that the movement away from employer based coverage will need to be handled carefully in order to protect those employers or their employees from new forms of health care taxes when consumerism strips away the ability to hide some of the industry excesses and inefficiencies that inadvertently benefit groups like the uninsured.

]]> By: John http://www.healthcare-blog.com/2008/the-future-of-cdhc-2008/#comment-29338 John Thu, 22 May 2008 19:06:12 +0000 http://www.healthcare-blog.com/?p=125#comment-29338 Scared to see the comments here. I am insured. But it looks like it is not real. If any of my dependents fall sick, easily I will lose my insurance along with my job. Then what is the use of insurance. I don't think anyone in this country can be safe even with excellent coverage. This so called coverage will vanish if you fall sick. Scary!! John Scared to see the comments here. I am insured. But it looks like it is not real. If any of my dependents fall sick, easily I will lose my insurance along with my job.
Then what is the use of insurance. I don’t think anyone in this country can be safe even with excellent coverage. This so called coverage will vanish if you fall sick.
Scary!!

John

]]> By: Mitch Parker http://www.healthcare-blog.com/2008/the-future-of-cdhc-2008/#comment-29332 Mitch Parker Thu, 22 May 2008 16:33:31 +0000 http://www.healthcare-blog.com/?p=125#comment-29332 Shut down health insurance companies. The problem is solved. Mitch Shut down health insurance companies. The problem is solved.

Mitch

]]> By: Samuel Perkins http://www.healthcare-blog.com/2008/the-future-of-cdhc-2008/#comment-29330 Samuel Perkins Thu, 22 May 2008 13:23:43 +0000 http://www.healthcare-blog.com/?p=125#comment-29330 Almost all the large employers are 'self-insured' and they get a monthly report from the health plans. Obviously, these employers do not want to spend tens of thousands of dollars every month on a very small number of employees. Easiest way to cut this cost is to let them go. This is not a new trend; it has been happening for years but now it has become a common practice. Basically, health insurance is for healthy people and not for sick ones. Why an insurance carrier should care about your health when they can get rid of you when you fall sick. Private health insurance can not and will not work. Nowhere in the world it is working. Sam Almost all the large employers are ’self-insured’ and they get a monthly report from the health plans. Obviously, these employers do not want to spend tens of thousands of dollars every month on a very small number of employees. Easiest way to cut this cost is to let them go.

This is not a new trend; it has been happening for years but now it has become a common practice.

Basically, health insurance is for healthy people and not for sick ones. Why an insurance carrier should care about your health when they can get rid of you when you fall sick.

Private health insurance can not and will not work. Nowhere in the world it is working.

Sam

]]> By: Jim Altvern http://www.healthcare-blog.com/2008/the-future-of-cdhc-2008/#comment-29306 Jim Altvern Wed, 21 May 2008 13:55:37 +0000 http://www.healthcare-blog.com/?p=125#comment-29306 A dangerous trend is starting to take hold. Recently, two of my colleagues were laid off though they were considered exceptional. They had only one thing in common; their spouses had serious illness. My employer is a large one and self-insured. I am sure that the medical cost incurred by my employer for these 2 employees' dependents was high in the last few months and it would have continued for some more time. There is no way one can prove that this is the reason for losing their job. Now, besides losing health insurance they lost their jobs as well. Also, their spouses will not get insurance coverage due to 'pre-existing conditions' while they need continued medical care. So, what could happen to these wonderful families. Probably, they would end up in personal bankruptcy and then in Medicaid. The questions is: what is the use of insurance. Medical care is not available when you need it. You lose your job as well. If you are healthy, you don't need medical care; when you are sick, you don't get it. Health-insurance is a fake arrangement for the carriers to make money. Abolish the current system and start from scratch. Jim Altvern A dangerous trend is starting to take hold. Recently, two of my colleagues were laid off though they were considered exceptional. They had only one thing in common; their spouses had serious illness.

My employer is a large one and self-insured. I am sure that the medical cost incurred by my employer for these 2 employees’ dependents was high in the last few months and it would have continued for some more time. There is no way one can prove that this is the reason for losing their job.

Now, besides losing health insurance they lost their jobs as well. Also, their spouses will not get insurance coverage due to ‘pre-existing conditions’ while they need continued medical care. So, what could happen to these wonderful families. Probably, they would end up in personal bankruptcy and then in Medicaid.

The questions is: what is the use of insurance. Medical care is not available when you need it. You lose your job as well.

If you are healthy, you don’t need medical care; when you are sick, you don’t get it. Health-insurance is a fake arrangement for the carriers to make money.

Abolish the current system and start from scratch.

Jim Altvern

]]> By: Nat http://www.healthcare-blog.com/2008/the-future-of-cdhc-2008/#comment-29266 Nat Mon, 19 May 2008 20:36:18 +0000 http://www.healthcare-blog.com/?p=125#comment-29266 Do I have access to pay 'usual and customary' (of any sort) for all my healthcare? I am ready to pay directly from my pocket; I do not need insurance. If you go to a hospital without insurance, they bill you 10-20 times more than what insurance or Medicare pays. Make healthcare completely open to public.....means make the cost TRANSPARENT. Let the people decide whether they need insurance or prepared to pay directly or any combination thereof. Market will automatically evolve to meet their needs. Nat Do I have access to pay ‘usual and customary’ (of any sort) for all my healthcare? I am ready to pay directly from my pocket; I do not need insurance.
If you go to a hospital without insurance, they bill you 10-20 times more than what insurance or Medicare pays.

Make healthcare completely open to public…..means make the cost TRANSPARENT. Let the people decide whether they need insurance or prepared to pay directly or any combination thereof. Market will automatically evolve to meet their needs.

Nat

]]> By: Andy http://www.healthcare-blog.com/2008/the-future-of-cdhc-2008/#comment-29263 Andy Mon, 19 May 2008 14:49:32 +0000 http://www.healthcare-blog.com/?p=125#comment-29263 Good doctors need to get paid more and bad doctors less. In the current system, there is no such thing called good/bad doctors. Unless people pick the doctors and people pay directly, there will be no difference between good and bad doctors. On other words, there is no such thing called 'Healthcare Quality' in the current system. Andy Good doctors need to get paid more and bad doctors less. In the current system, there is no such thing called good/bad doctors.

Unless people pick the doctors and people pay directly, there will be no difference between good and bad doctors. On other words, there is no such thing called ‘Healthcare Quality’ in the current system.

Andy

]]> By: JFRock http://www.healthcare-blog.com/2008/the-future-of-cdhc-2008/#comment-29249 JFRock Sat, 17 May 2008 11:44:19 +0000 http://www.healthcare-blog.com/?p=125#comment-29249 Most plastic surgery is elective surgery, meaning the patient pays for it. They usually pay for it at the time of service. That means no filing forms with the insurance company, which lowers the physicians overhead cost. It has been my observation that physicians are not only being paid less by the payors insurance companies, they run into a hazzle about 40% of the time in submitting a claim to these payors (insurance companies). Currently the insurance giants are reducing your fee's, delaying payment to you, and then running up your overhead with the "hazzle factor". Have you seen the bottomlines of 8 out of 10 of this country's healthcare system. Not only are they huge....they are tax exempt. Likewise have you seen the profits of our big insurance companies, again staggering. If anyone wants to know how to fund the 47 million uninsured, I have two good places to start. I wonder why America's 600,000 physicians are sitting on the sideline watching America's 6,000 hospitals continue to control and run up the tab of our healthcare system. Hospitals don't vote and most don't pay taxes, but they control the physicians......why? JFR Most plastic surgery is elective surgery, meaning the patient pays for it. They usually pay for it at the time of service. That means no filing forms with the insurance company, which lowers the physicians overhead cost. It has been my observation that physicians are not only being paid less by the payors insurance companies, they run into a hazzle about 40% of the time in submitting a claim to these payors
(insurance companies). Currently the insurance giants are reducing your fee’s, delaying payment to you, and then running up your overhead with the “hazzle factor”.

Have you seen the bottomlines of 8 out of 10 of this country’s healthcare system. Not only are they huge….they are tax exempt. Likewise have you seen the profits of our big insurance companies, again staggering. If anyone wants to know how to fund the 47 million uninsured, I have two good places to start.

I wonder why America’s 600,000 physicians are sitting on the sideline watching America’s 6,000 hospitals continue to control and run up the tab of our healthcare system. Hospitals don’t vote and most don’t pay taxes, but they control the physicians……why?

JFR

]]> By: Frank http://www.healthcare-blog.com/2008/the-future-of-cdhc-2008/#comment-29242 Frank Sat, 17 May 2008 02:21:15 +0000 http://www.healthcare-blog.com/?p=125#comment-29242 Imagine a scenario where we buy grocery without knowing the price and paid by the insurance or employer or Govt. All the shelves in the grocery stores would be empty all the time. It would be a nightmare. Exactly that's what is happening in healthcare. It doesn't require a rocket scientist to figure out the problem. People should pick the doctors; people should buy the service/procedure; people should buy insurance.....NO MORE PROBLEMS IN HEALTHCARE. What is holding up? It is simply the $$$$ (hundreds of millions) being spent every year by healthplans for LOBBYING. It can be overcome only by us.....by calling the politicians in this election year. PLEASE DO IT. Frank Imagine a scenario where we buy grocery without knowing the price and paid by the insurance or employer or Govt. All the shelves in the grocery stores would be empty all the time. It would be a nightmare.

Exactly that’s what is happening in healthcare. It doesn’t require a rocket scientist to figure out the problem.

People should pick the doctors; people should buy the service/procedure; people should buy insurance…..NO MORE PROBLEMS IN HEALTHCARE.

What is holding up? It is simply the $$$$ (hundreds of millions) being spent every year by healthplans for LOBBYING. It can be overcome only by us…..by calling the politicians in this election year. PLEASE DO IT.

Frank

]]> By: Herb Singh http://www.healthcare-blog.com/2008/the-future-of-cdhc-2008/#comment-29236 Herb Singh Fri, 16 May 2008 21:44:46 +0000 http://www.healthcare-blog.com/?p=125#comment-29236 I am a practicing urologist and have been attentive to the business side of the health care space. The only specialty in medicine where the total cost of care has dropped in total real dollar terms for the outsome is costmetic plastic surgery. Why? 1) because patients often pick there doctors on outcomes they can measure 2) The "out of pocket" cost is an excellent index of the total cost of the intervention. As a country we need to focus on creating comparable surrogates in the other health specialties. I am a practicing urologist and have been attentive to the business side of the health care space. The only specialty in medicine where the total cost of care has dropped in total real dollar terms for the outsome is costmetic plastic surgery.
Why? 1) because patients often pick there doctors on outcomes they can measure 2) The “out of pocket” cost is an excellent index of the total cost of the intervention.
As a country we need to focus on creating comparable surrogates in the other health specialties.

]]> By: jfr http://www.healthcare-blog.com/2008/the-future-of-cdhc-2008/#comment-29235 jfr Fri, 16 May 2008 21:19:19 +0000 http://www.healthcare-blog.com/?p=125#comment-29235 What's keeping us from implementing this TODAY? I believe in order to transform our healthcare system, which desparately needs to be done NOW, we need involve the rank and file of America's insureds (working people). I believe the key to this engagement are their employers. Our nation's employer's cry about how the high cost of healthcare impacts their P&L. Employers like to save money and if they can help their employee's, it's all the better. Employer's need to demand that insurance companies make available to their employee's the prices they have negotiated with the providers in the area. ( The emphasis on or concern about "quality" is a delay tactic by those in the ole guard system). I can understand why insurance companies don't want to share their prices with other insurance companies. But how can they, in good conscious, not provide their own HDHP or CDHP customers, with the negotiated price THEY have with area providers? Is it right that THEY sell a HDHP and then make their high deductible customer go out and pay full market rates or to fend for themselves when THEY have already negotiated and established lower prices for the claims THEY pay providers. It's ridiculous, that a premium paying customer of the insurance company, should have to pay any more for their healthcare services than THEY pay. Besides, by the customer paying the same low price THEY do, it actually extends their deductible delaying when THEY have to pay a claim on the insureds behalf. I simply want to know the price before my service, I want to choose where I have my service, and I want to do it at my convenience....cause I'm pay'n. This is by no means a total transformation of our healthcare system, but it is an attention getting start. JFR What’s keeping us from implementing this TODAY? I believe in order to transform our healthcare system, which desparately needs to be done NOW, we need involve the rank and file of America’s insureds (working people). I believe the key to this engagement are their employers. Our nation’s employer’s cry about how the high cost of healthcare impacts their P&L. Employers like to save money and if they can help their employee’s, it’s all the better.
Employer’s need to demand that insurance companies make available to their employee’s the prices they have negotiated with the providers in the area. ( The emphasis on or concern about “quality” is a delay tactic by those in the ole guard system).

I can understand why insurance companies don’t want to share their prices with other insurance companies. But how can they, in good conscious, not provide their own HDHP or CDHP customers, with the negotiated price THEY have with area providers? Is it right that THEY sell a HDHP and then make their high deductible customer go out and pay full market rates or to fend for themselves when THEY have already negotiated and established lower prices for the claims THEY pay providers. It’s ridiculous, that a premium paying customer of the insurance company, should have to pay any more for their healthcare services than THEY pay. Besides, by the customer paying the same low price THEY do, it actually extends their deductible delaying when THEY have to pay a claim on the insureds behalf.

I simply want to know the price before my service, I want to choose where I have my service, and I want to do it at my convenience….cause I’m pay’n. This is by no means a total transformation of our healthcare system, but it is an attention getting start.

JFR

]]> By: Mike Summers http://www.healthcare-blog.com/2008/the-future-of-cdhc-2008/#comment-29227 Mike Summers Fri, 16 May 2008 14:50:44 +0000 http://www.healthcare-blog.com/?p=125#comment-29227 The era of health-plans is over. When "people, not employers, and not government, do the buying", any industry will be at its best in terms of efficiency. This is the only way, we can cut cost. We don't need anymore discussion. Let the "people do the buying". Let us make it happen NOW. Mike The era of health-plans is over.

When “people, not employers, and not government, do the buying”, any industry will be at its best in terms of efficiency. This is the only way, we can cut cost.

We don’t need anymore discussion. Let the “people do the buying”.

Let us make it happen NOW.

Mike

]]> By: PJ http://www.healthcare-blog.com/2008/the-future-of-cdhc-2008/#comment-29105 PJ Wed, 14 May 2008 14:30:50 +0000 http://www.healthcare-blog.com/?p=125#comment-29105 Thanks for bringing out this content online. It is awesome and I agree with everything discussed here. It seems like there is some light at the end of the tunnel. It is already long over-due and needs to be implemented ASAP. People, not insurance carriers or employers or Govt, must decide what they want based on cost and of course on the consultation with their doctors. If it is made possible, healthcare will be much cheaper and better in quality. How can we do it? 1) Let employers fund the individuals' HSAs tax free. 2) Make the cost completely transparent. (At this time, quality of care can not be compared. The data held by the health-plans is of 'trash' quality; they are nothing but 'manually tinkered' data. It would take a few years to get some reasonable data on care quality.) 3) Let the people decide on what kind of insurance they want from their HSAs. This is the only way we can control obesity and healthcare cost. Some may need only catastrophic coverage for a very low premium. For Medicaid recipients, let the Govt fund their HSA accounts; this will be more efficient than providing free healthcare. What would be the problem? Today, millions of people are involved in health-plans, insurance agents/brokers, third party administrators, etc. They are used to making lots of profit with inefficient service; they need to change. There will be lots of resistance. We need the 'political will' to implement this. PJ Thanks for bringing out this content online. It is awesome and I agree with everything discussed here. It seems like there is some light at the end of the tunnel. It is already long over-due and needs to be implemented ASAP.

People, not insurance carriers or employers or Govt, must decide what they want based on cost and of course on the consultation with their doctors. If it is made possible, healthcare will be much cheaper and better in quality.

How can we do it?
1) Let employers fund the individuals’ HSAs tax free.
2) Make the cost completely transparent. (At this time, quality of care can not be compared. The data held by the health-plans is of ‘trash’ quality; they are nothing but ‘manually tinkered’ data. It would take a few years to get some reasonable data on care quality.)
3) Let the people decide on what kind of insurance they want from their HSAs. This is the only way we can control obesity and healthcare cost. Some may need only catastrophic coverage for a very low premium. For Medicaid recipients, let the Govt fund their HSA accounts; this will be more efficient than providing free healthcare.

What would be the problem? Today, millions of people are involved in health-plans, insurance agents/brokers, third party administrators, etc. They are used to making lots of profit with inefficient service; they need to change. There will be lots of resistance.

We need the ‘political will’ to implement this.

PJ

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