Linky

I’m not a fan of socialized medicine. I recognize that access to medical care is an important issue, and although currently covered, I pay through the nose for some of the most worthless health insurance in the history of the US. The sad part of that is that I’m at a health science center. At a medical school, basically surrounded by doctors. And I still can’t see one without fighting my worthless PPO. I just don’t think that socialism is ever the solution…to anything. When i left for graduate school in the UK, I told my friends and family that I only had two real fears:

1. That I’d be mugged. Not because of the mugging per se, but the resultant incarceration…of myself. The UK’s draconian anti-self defense laws result in harsher penalties for defending yourself than for the person who mugged you. I’m a big bastard and have training in the martial arts. Not defending myself would be nigh on impossible.

2. That I’d need medical care, possibly because of a London violent crime rate over 6 times as high as that of New York City. I had and still have an unfounded fear that I’d be left bleeding on the doorstep of the gigantic hospital less than a block from my school. Between their lack of triage, subpar emergency and surgical care, and Multiply Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (one of those ’superbugs’ you hear about) rates higher than those in India, needing a doctor in the UK is something to truly fear. Although, of course, you don’t have to pay.

Socialized medicine merely results in equally horrible medical care for everyone. It turns into a rationing system in a sense, with waiting lists up to 2 years long for surgeries that mean the difference between excruciating pain which most of you can’t even fathom and the ability to function. It means higher complication rates and lower success rates. It’s just…well, it’s bad.

Although the US doesn’t participate in a retarded scheme like the UK’s, the market in which we purchase medical care and medical coverage is far from free. One thing that is vital to the operation of basic economic principles is what’s known as perfect information. This means that the consumer has to know about the cost, quality, and other aspects of the product he’s purchasing.

When’s the last time a surgeon told you his success rate during consultation? Complication rate? What about actual price for a doctor’s visit or a run-of-the-mill procedure? No clue, right? I know the cost of a couple things due to dealing with a car accident related knee injury. Had to pay out of pocket and get the other guy’s auto insurance to reimburse me. And more recently, my PPO has denied every claim I’ve made, even after getting confirmation of coverage over the phone, and every possible referral and approval necessary. So I can tell you how much a 5 minute visit with a Physician’s Assistant costs. Or an actually very worthwhile visit with a Physiatrist (not psychiatrist) costs. Or how much physical therapy costs. But enough about my bitterness. Point is, we have very little idea of what we’re actually spending and what we’re getting.

Sensing that void, dirty capitalists at HealthGrades have come to the rescue. They’ll charge you 8 bucks for the service, but in return you’ll find out some or all of that information that makes a free market possible.

Beginning Monday, consumers can learn the cost of 42 medical procedures ranging from gastric bypass to cataract surgery through the Web site of HealthGrades Inc., based in suburban Denver. The company plans to add information for 14 more procedures soon.

“What this helps an individual do is to shop for health care, which is a very new concept,” said Scott Shapiro, a spokesman for the company. “But because individuals are paying an increasing amount from out of pocket for their health care, they are increasingly looking for information that helps them shop for health care.”

Hah, free markets here we come. We’ll find out the true prices of procedures and surgeries as provided by various health professionals. Some HMO’s like Aetna are also providing this information to their clients:

“This is not about cost savings for Aetna. What’s in it for Aetna is we do believe the entire health care system will benefit as more people become educated on quality first, but also on the price of things, just so they can start having these discussions with their doctors,” Morphew said. “As it stands now, people don’t have that information until after they’ve seen the physician and that seemed backward to us.”

And that dirty bastard President Bush has been encouraging this whole process! When we could be waiting years for surgery on herniated disks instead of weeks. When we too, like the British, could have our wisdom teeth removed by methods that are almost barbaric!

Last month, President Bush said providing consumers accurate price information could help control the country’s soaring health care costs.

As such information becomes widely available, health care costs could ease, Weisbart said.

“Even when the information isn’t being used on a widespread basis, there will obviously be pressure on the high-cost institutions to bring their prices down, if for no other reason than because they look bad,” he said.

And that’s one of the important things. We’ve got a situation where there’s excessive and unnatural price inelasticity of demand both for health coverage and for health procedures. Price inelasticity of demand basically means that people will buy a product or a service in the same numbers even if the price rises precipitously. For HMO’s/PPO’s/whatevers, we buy through our company. Because that’s how it’s done. We bitch, we moan, we grumble, and then we write the check anyway. As far as we think, there’s little other choice. You don’t want to be uninsured, and you don’t want to mess with some of those crazy ass alternatives. Like that retarded option of the health savings account that President Bush keeps mentioning; socialism is clearly a better option.

Once we understand what these costs actually look like, for many of us health savings accounts look a mite bit better. For instance, I’m a healthy 22 year old male. Family history of diabetes, but they probably could’ve held that at bay if they’d been a bit more diligent in their diet…also I don’t have a sweet tooth. The only thing I’ve seen doctors for in the recent past is sports physicals and opthalmologist checkups.

Couple that health savings account with another cool idea. Critical Illness Insurance. I’ve only ever heard about this on a local talk radio station, but it sounds pretty trick. Name your common age-related or otherwise life-altering illness from cancer to heart disease to stroke. It pays out when you get sick. Kind of like life insurance, except they give it to you before you die.

Between my high deductible/low cost insurance, health savings account, and critical illness insurance, I could save a bundle (something like 50% based on a rough estimate) per yaer while sacrificing nothing in access to care. And getting a tax break. Sounds like a pretty good deal.

Now, your mileage may vary, since not everyone is in my situation (although I’d say a large minority of us are). Those of you with kids, especially young kids will probably want to stay with traditional health insurance. Those of you who are getting up in age and may already have some of those age-related problems may want to stay with it too. But even you’ll benefit. Because now, now that we’re getting closer to perfect information, coverage providers will have to work a bit harder. Since my insurance company does mainly student insurance, and most students, like me, have little need of healthcare, they’re going to take a pretty hard hit in enrollment. Most others will too, as we learn that other options are not only viable, they save us money. And when people compete, they either lower prices, increase quality, or both. And those doctors and hospitals will be competing too, lowering their prices if they’re a bit insane. Which, of course, will trickle back to the HMO’s. Since they’ll be paying out less, they’ll pass those savings on to you. And now i think I’m repeating myself. So back to Respiratory Physiology lecture I go!