In U.S., insurance is no assurance of health care

[flashl]

The U.S. economic slowdown has swelled the ranks of people without health insurance. But now it is also threatening millions of Americans who have insurance but find that the coverage is too limited or that they cannot afford their own share of medical costs.

Many of the 158 million people in the United States covered by employer health insurance are struggling to meet medical expenses that are much higher than they used to be - often because of some combination of higher premiums, less extensive coverage, and bigger out-of-pocket deductibles and co-payments.

With medical costs soaring, the coverage many people have may not adequately protect them from the financial shock of an emergency room visit or major surgery. For some, even routine doctor visits might now take a back seat to basic expenses like food and gasoline.

...

Already, many doctors say, the soft economy is making some insured people hesitant to get care they need, reluctant to spend a $50 co-payment for an office visit. Parents "are waiting longer to bring in their children," said Richard Lander, a pediatrician in Livingston, New Jersey. "They say, 'The kid isn't that sick; her temperature is only 102,' " or 38.9 degrees Celsius.

IHT

[Vincardog]

1. The only solution to the Health care problem in the USA is to get rid of the Insurance Companies.

We have to kick out the Parasitic Corporations.

[Warpy]

2. We have to get rid of cost control as the main priority

and make delivery of timely care the priority. That means eliminating the profit motive. Once that is done, what we have can be re evaluated and redundant and expensive services pared down. There is no reason for competing hospitals in cities all to have MRI scanners, for instance, and having hospitals specialize will definitely cut costs over having them all in false competition with each other.

I say it's false competition because the consumer, who has not chosen to get seriously ill, is in absolutely no position to call around and find out who gives the lowest cost care. It just doesn't happen that way in the real world.

The present system is irretrievably broken and there is no way to tweak it to make it work. Edwards had the right idea: allow people to do an end run around the for profit system and buy into the much cheaper Medicare. For profit insurance would go the way of the dodo bird in most cases and be chosen only by the conspicuous consumers in the executive class in a few cases.

It's sad that none of the candidates running has thought this through and that all seem to be buying the propaganda of the industries that are killing us instead of curing us.