My opinion is that medical services are too expensive and insurance companies pay too little. And who is suffering? Patients! Majority of patients I met are either young working or retired with Medicare. However, they all complain about the bills they receive from insurance companies. Just today, one young lady told me about her recent bone scan of 12,000 and she is responsible for twenty percent. That is just a tiny fraction of her entire treatment cost. Even though I agree with you that Illegals or even Americans without insurance use emergency services as a way of receiving care, I still think it is not the main reason for the rising cost.
There are two different issues. Working and insured who can not afford the copayments and unemployed and uninsured. What problem you encounter might depend on your area and demographics. I really hope that the incoming Administration thinks about patients and the quality of care they receive before they try to reform the healthcare system.
If the primary medicine is to be made more attractive I would suggest considering the flow of communication within medical community. For example, many patients tend to refer themselves to a spec. unless otherwise required by the insurance company. I, however, believe that primary physician should house all information on his or her patients. It would not only enable physicians to follow patients better, recognize changes based on past records, but also it would give them a clearer picture of patient’s state of health and it would help prevent any potential errors in medical treatments such as prescription drugs. Consequently, medical students might consider primary medicine.
I absolutely agree with you...
Health care can be seen as a combination of clinical measures and preventive measures. It is important to say that the term quality of life is defined differently depending on the health status. For a terminally ill cancer patient, it would mean a reduction in pain, and a pain free end of life (clinical measure). For a healthy person, it would simply mean that everything is done to stay healthy (preventive measure). That’s why I believe in 1) a single-payer system with low administrative cost and an improved access to clinical measures and 2) bigger emphasis on primary medicine which would provide for preventive measures.
I read with great interest suggestions made in the document. I would like to share my experience with you since I attended European schools grade 1-12. Starting in the fourth grade we had every three months one book due. It was a very intense and challenging oral and written exam. Even though my parents had a small home library, I still think my reading and writing skills have been developed in school. This might be besides a point, but, my teachers had an educational background in Education and graduate or specialized education in age or subject group they wanted to teach later on.
I would like to add something about dental care. I recently had an emergency oral surgery. I have a dental and health coverage and my dentist referred me to an oral surgeon. Sounds OK. But, he did not want to deal with my dental insurance or wait for the reimbursement. That’s my job now!!! I had to pay him 1,500 up front (full cost) and wait for the response from my insurance. Outrages!!! By the way, I am still waiting. I just hope this does not become a trend among dentists.
It is outrages how much healthcare costs today (including prescription drugs). Even though insurance companies pay a portion of the cost, for patients who are chronically ill or undergoing treatments 10 or 20 percent is a lot. It is a lot because it is 10 or 20 percent of thousands of dollars. I work with cancer patients and don’t even want to go into the cost of their treatments. It is in tens of thousands.
I believe the next Administration should send lobbyist down the Hill and bring up the Hill people who truly care for patients and would like to put care back into healthcare. As of now, healthcare is a trillion dollar business and everyone wants a piece of the pie. Unfortunately, there is not much of the pie left. So, when they all start running up the Hill, I would ask what they can do to improve the state of the healthcare. Of course, that would only be a short term solution. I would also like to see next Administration use media and advertisement to promote and educate public about healthy lifestyle. Psychology 101, the more we see something the more likely is we will end up doing it. Every other industry does it!
Also, GET the insurance companies OUT of medical business and TAKE a better CONTROL over pharmaceutical companies. Bottom line, healthcare issues are multifaceted and so should be solutions.
I would also like to mention something that is very important to me and it is the quality of health services. I strongly believe physicians need to be held accountable for the quality of work they perform. There also need to be some sort of physician’s annual quality review or even changes in reporting requirements which would help improve the quality. As such we might be able to award the good work and, hopefully, recognize the bad. I understand that there will always be bad apples in a bunch, so this is just an idea… inc. competition = inc. quality = dec. unnecessary procedures = dec. cost = better patient care.
Next question is ‘What is the purpose of the US healthcare system?’ Nowadays it seems to be more concerned with treatments rather than prevention. With an increasing population, improvements in treating chronic diseases, and improvements in diagnostic technologies, it is to expect an increase in cost and the need of health services. How do you decrease demand? Prevention!
The World Health Organization has defined health as not merely the absence of disease but a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being. A person can be physically disabled but feel perfectly fine. On the other hand, somebody else can be perfectly fit and physically healthy but mentally unstable.
I read too many times how good EU healthcare systems are. In order to have EU-type a healthcare system, Americans would need to live EU-type a lifestyle. It is a known fact that folks over there work shorter hours, have more vacations, have a more social lifestyle, eat more fresh (no fast-food) food, and live closer to each other. So, if we are to adapt EU healthcare system, we need a cultural change. Now, read over the WHO definition and you’ll realize that the EU and the US have different definitions of Health.
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