Ahhhh…the magic of Obama’s proposed $2 Trillion in savings on health care. Jason Shafrin the Health Care Economist does a great job of breaking down the numbers…and I do mean “breaking down”.
I do think that Universal Insurance is the way to go, but I think EVERYONE will need to pay into it. And actually I think if everyone pays, that will be the real stimulus to bring about savings.
From the LA Times
They have embraced several cost-saving strategies already being promoted by Washington policymakers, such as simplifying billing, restructuring the way hospitals are paid and improving information technology. Details on how the $2 trillion could be saved, however, are lacking in a letter they provided to the White House.
From Health Affairs:
People uninsured for any part of 2008 spend about $30 billion out of pocket and receive approximately $56 billion in uncompensated care while uninsured. Government programs finance about 75 percent of uncompensated care. If all uninsured people were fully covered, their medical spending would increase by $122.6 billion. The increase represents 5 percent of current national health spending and 0.8 percent of gross domestic product. However, it is neither the cost of a specific plan nor necessarily the same as the government’s costs, which could be higher, depending on plans’ financing structures and the extent of crowd-out.
There are some pretty big assumptions here: how do we know their medical spending would increase by $122.6 billion? Is it possible we could set up a plan with deductibles/no co-pay to discourage unnecessary spending? Are these people currently costing the system MORE because they wind up in the emergency room instead of getting medical care promptly?
John Stossel takes on Medicare. Its only 6 minutes, doesn’t go into the numbers (at least not deeply)…but its nice someone is trying.
Dr. Nick Rivieria shows them how its done. (Warning, watching this video may lead to Bonus Eruptus).
It occurs to me that opening up Medicare to the young and healthy will perhaps prolong the day of reckoning…the day when Medicare runs out of money.
By taking a cash infusion directly from premiums paid by businesses and younger/healthier individuals Medicare’s future is going to look a bit brighter, at least in the short run.
Of course, hospitals and doctors rely on payments from private insurers and individuals to make up for the amount not paid by Medicare/Medicaid…where they get that if health care is nationalized I have no idea.
Spiffy health stats by state - including amount spent on health care per capita by state.
It is worth noting that in “Overtreated” the author discovered that where health spending was higher due to high specialists vs. general practioners the outcomes were much worse!
How much would you pay for health insurance if it were required by law? Who knows. The plan in Massachusetts is supposedly breaking the bank (i.e., its going to get a lot more expensive very soon!) But its hard to say WHY its breaking the bank.
I.e., stringent rules that prevent nurses from providing care, or midwives from delivering babies, weird rules that make payments for “therapeutics touch” mandatory, as many as 10 trials of artificial insemination?
I notice they don’t seem to have High Deductible / HSA compatible health plans either. Can that be right?
Anyway, you can see how much health insurance costs someone like you in Massachusetts for now.
UPDATE: There are plenty of Health Savings Account Compatible Plans offered in Massachusets. Just not through the official Mass health insurance finder linked above.
A friend of mine who had to self pay recommends: http://awomansplacechicago.com/
For a C-section she paid $17,000 total (pre-natal/delivery) .
Apparently normal births are around $5000 (pre-natal/delivery).
Its a midwife group. Hence the relatively low pricetag. I will definitely be checking them out!
I like this article because it doesn’t seem slanted in either direction. Very sensible comments on health care reform from a conservative perspective from Joseph Antos, of the American Enterprise Institute.