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10/1/2009
I actually agree with Rep. Kagen
Well, kind of. In reading, then breaking down a typical article we’re seeing these days, I don’t make light of the pain some families go through due to difficult health care decisions and indeed, due to unusually high health care costs. As you read typical media reports though, it’s critical to recognize a few things:
- Yes, health care has a cost – sometimes a significant cost – and it’s something families must budget to pay for. Health care is not free – health care isn’t even cheap!
- What you’re reading isn’t always complete or accurate – so at least question what you read.
- We all must become more informed about health care options, more in charge of our own health care decisions and very very aware of health care costs.
- There are not enough dollars out there to pay for every possible medical treatment for every individual. We all must make choices – and they won’t always be easy.
- Yes. We need change in our system. Guaranteed coverage with pre-existing conditions. Much greater transparency of health care quality and costs and insurance provisions and costs. Subsidized insurance premiums for those for whom premiums create an undue burden on an individual or family.
- Anecdotes cannot be the basis for creating effective public policy.
This Rhinelander Daily News piece begins, as is often typical, with complaints about affordability.
The 28-year-old [husband and wife] pay $350 per month for an insurance plan with a $4,000 deductible that doesn’t cover her prescriptions…. “We make too much to qualify for any state programs, county programs or federal programs, but we’re just barely over the edge,” …. “It’s just impossible to make ends meet. We have this huge chunk out of his paycheck each month and we don’t see it.” And this is kind of unique in the annals of health insurance anecdotal complaints.
Do we get birth control or do we get food? Of course, there’s the classic complaint about insurance costs and, as in other templates used by the media, insurance companies are the bad guys.
“I don’t know why insurance went up so much, but it would be nice to know. Did it go up because the insurance companies are padding their pockets? Or because the cost of everything else went up? If you make it more affordable people are going to pay.” To their credit, the Rhinelander Daily News interviewed Pete Biolo, a past president of the Oneida County Republicans who has “taken an active role in the political debate over healthcare reform.” Biolo concedes that there are gaps in the current healthcare system….
…. “I think we could all agree that people that are down and out, a compassionate society would want to take care of their healthcare, but the debate should be about how we are going to pay for them,” Biolo said. “We need to engage in these specific kind of arguments and we haven’t really done that.” [My emphasis.] Wise words are also sought from Rep. Steve Kagen. While insisting a public option will be part of final legislation (we’ll see), Kagen calls for:
- No discrimination due to pre-existing conditions [ok – check]
- Pricing transparency for health care services across the system [absolutely – check – why didn’t he ever do this in his allergy practice? Why isn’t his brother’s allergy practice doing it now?]
- A standard plan that would create competition between government and private providers [Well, several defined plans that would create competition among private providers across state lines – half-check]
The good doctor also says, in connection with a hospital stay “’Did she ask them to negotiate the price?’” Great. I loved it. Transparency, transparency, transparency. Competition, the marketplace, personal responsibility. Imagine.
Then there’s a bunch of typical Kagen hyperbole. But for a brief moment, I could agree with the guy. Now that’s historic.
Jo Egelhoff, FoxPolitics.net
COMMENTS
One of Rep. Kagen's mantras is that he wants a public insurance option to make the insurance companies compete and keep them honest. When I managed the selection of health care plans for the employees of our factory there were always numerous insurance companies responding to our RFP in a very competitive environment -- so I know that in today's market insurance companies are competing with each other for business.
So, my question for Rep. Kagen is, "what do you mean by saying insurance companies are not competing today? Are you asserting price-fixing? If so, please present your evidence so the offending companies can be prosecuted. If you have no evidence, stop making the bogus claim that the companies are not competing for business".
Also, Rep. Kagen has been following the Pelosi playbook of demonizing the insurance companies. He should be asked to name the companies he believes are operating unethically. Wausau? WPS? WEAC's insurance company? Humana?
BC/BS of Wisconsin? AMS? Let's have him name some names. If he believes what he says, he should have no problem calling companies within his district (or within Wisconsin) evil, right?
Tom (Thu Oct 01 10:11:04 2009)
Insurance companies competing with one another?? The problem with Insurance companies "competing" is that there is so much variability in policies and cost shifting that it is impossible to have true competition. In classic economics the lowest price is obtained when you have lots of sellers for a standardized product. This is clearly not the case in our health care system. It is impossible for me (MBA/finance and over 25 years experience) to have any certainty about what my health plan really offers (or excludes) and how stable our plan will be for price or coverage. It is impossible to have beneficial competition without standardization. A government run option would provide the standard and at MUCH less overhead. There are reasons why our "system" has about 3x the administrative overburden costs compared to other countries and it's because we don't have standards and the insurance companies are not interested in making people healthy as long as they can unload the expense to someone else. Insurance companies spend a huge amount of money pushing paper with no discernible benefit to the patient. This is the ultimate bureaucracy and would be totally unsustainable in any other industry. It is an economic fact that health care does not respond to supply/demand in the same way as consumer goods. It is an economic fact that pure competition is not always the most efficient way to create or supply goods and services. We should look at how other countries get it right rather than having some philosophical ideal about competition uber alles that does not hold up in the real world.
dave allen (Thu Oct 01 13:43:51 2009)
Kagen has been saying this exact same thing since before the primary race back in '06. Jo, I can't believe this is the first time you've heard him say it!
(Thu Oct 01 21:19:10 2009)
Health care need changes. By making two things standard and excluding the so called mandates, we could have a fair competition between insurance companies. We do need to eliminate the preexisting condition clause and we do need to make everyone purchase the health insurance. We cannot buy it only when we need it. Don't make major changes.
don s (Fri Oct 02 08:06:20 2009)
I'm not following you Don. Which two things need to be made standard? Also, I can't tell if you support the mandate or not. I can't see how the system works without a mandate. So someone isn't insured and they have a loss, the public ends up paying for care. But those free market/personal responsibility folks who believe there should not be a mandate believe the individual should be responsible for whatever befalls him/her. Would this country ever let that happen?
(I flew to D.C. today and haven't been at my computer - I apologize for not getting your comment posted earlier.)
Jo (Fri Oct 02 16:17:17 2009)
There is a tremendous amount of small changes that can be made to improve services and more importantly reduce costs. This current 'behemoth' change 'now' is not the answer. In fact it is likely to make the current problems look good and bankrupt the county if that has not already been archived.
What I am surprised at in this current National conversation is what seems to be an exclusive beat down of the insurance industry. Oh, they deserve a lot of the credit for unreasonably raising the cost of healthcare, but they are not the only problem group.
What about healthcare providers? What about hospitals? What about government? I would suggest that insurance is good for 25% but I would add the above for the other 75%. You certainly could throw in lawyers for a hunk also. In fact you could shoot the lawyers on it's own merit.
Why has no one brought these other groups into the fray?
s_cristaldi (Fri Oct 02 19:12:59 2009)
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