Quit Wasting My Healthcare

Consumers as ‘Stewards’ to Address 4 Issues that Stymie Health Reform

The Associated Press reported today that there are 4 issues that “could dash President Barack Obama’s hopes for overhauling healthcare.”

(http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2009/06/30/hard_choices_on_4_big_issues_stymie_health_push/?rss_id=Boston.com+–+Latest+news)

Issue #1 – Cost – $1 – $2 Trillion over the next 10 years

Consumers as ‘Stewards’ can lower cost by including cost in the healthcare decision making process. The doctor in the exam room and their patient must talk about cost. If a doctor and patient view healthcare as spending someone else’s money, costs will never be controlled. Incentives must be aligned so that as good stewards of health and healthcare resources, physicians can offer and consumers can receive equal–and often better–care at a lower cost.

Issue #2 – Employer Mandate

Consumers as ‘Stewards’ can reduce the need for an employer mandate by purchasing insurance on the open market. For employees who currently work for companies that do not offer health insurance, there is an option to purchase private insurance. A high-deductible plan can offer premiums that are affordable to many (but not all) people, however there is the issue of no coverage for pre-existing conditions. Our company–Compass–has helped just those sort of individuals obtain coverage and find affordable care for their conditions. It is not easy, but it does work. It takes knowledge of lower-cost providers, generic alternatives and drug-company and state sponsored pharmacy assistance programs.

Issue #3 – Government Plan

Consumers as ‘Stewards’ can mitigate the need for a goverment insurance plan by making private industry practices more transparent. There are abuses in healthcare on all sides–physicians, hospitals, insurance companies, employers, the government… and on and on. The best way to correct those abuses is to shine light on them and let consumers vote with their feet. To say that medical care is “too complicated for consumers to make an educated decision” is to go against the first tenent of medical ethics–patient autonomy.

Issue #4 Benefits Tax

Consumers as ‘Stewards’ can make better use of their health insurance benefits–and the associated tax-break–rather than giving that tax-break up. Many employers provide plan choices that offer more appropriate coverage for a lower payroll deduction or even a deposit into an HSA account. Given the right tools and support, consumers can translate that benefits tax-break into money in their pocket without sacrificing access to quality care and their health.

Independent of national healthcare “reform,” each person’s own “reform” of their healthcare position from passive patient to Active ‘Steward’ will improve their health, improve their access to care and do so at a lower cost.