Health Care for America Now: A great new group, hope they get specific

I'm hopeful for a new group called Health Care For America Now
http://healthcareforamericanow.org.

Getting the group off the ground seems excellent but I truly hope they get specific and fast. Momentum will be lost if they don't charge out of the gates with more than a goal for health care and a bunch of rah rah statements. Of course, as a health services industry consumer advocate, I couldn't resist contributing my two cents:

I have actually advocated for affordable, accessible quality health care for decades, and with my blog, have addressed issues for over a year. I applaud this consumer effort and recommend that consumers step up the game in terms of clarity of goals and lobbying efforts. Wanting “universal” health care is not enough, just look at the AMA website (for doctor advocacy) and the AHIP website (for health insurer advocacy). These organized and well-funded and very specific efforts have helped produce and perpetuate the “crisis” of today.

As consumers we know what we want, I have always called it AAQT (ACCESS, AFFORDABILITY QUALITY TACTICS for health services), but as consumers we seem easily distracted. For instance, the shift away from true insurance (policies covering RISK of the cost of illness and need for medical services) to endless “preventive” options so that people are distracted from exclusions, and limitations imposed by health insurers for needed medical services because they get the free checkup every year...dollars and cents, this is a bad choice. We don’t need health insurance to cover finite costs, but the endless cost of treating medical events.

1) Health insurance is only useful if our premiums are affordable and cover the FINANCIAL RISK of obtaining needed medical care. We have long forgotten that health insurance is our current tool in helping pay for needed medical services, if this tool fails because health insurers are bankers (holding funds and administering funds from health savings accounts), or are functioning as “educators” where they have nanny companies asking you whether you are eating right (which the large insurers contract with third parties for now), or as “policy” makers advocating for profits from finite events with predictable costs (eg checkups and screenings) in EXCHANGE for true health insurance (how many oncologists are parts of plans vs how many dieticians, how many cardiologists, how are the deductibles, co-pays on those coverages?) then we end up with what we have today...the need for additional INSURANCE POLICIES to cover the risk of illness.

2) The problem is NOT solved from the bottom up but from the MIDDLE OUT: Political goals (those of politicians) have addressed the gross numbers of UNINSURED. Like the sub-prime crisis in the mortgage industry, problems start in the middle...it was not those in the subprime market who ultimately brought down housing it was the impact of sketchy loans on the middle class who ended up unable to afford their mortgage payments. Similarly, addressing the uninsured will not impact the under-insured majority BUT fighting for cost controls on medical services and insurance products that actually cover risk of illness WILL help the uninsured because the COST of insurance and health services will come down.

3) MORE INSURANCE is NOT the answer: The push for long term care insurance is on its way because of legislation that provides for funding such policies in conjunction with other insurance products. The most important lesson of this push will be that MORE insurance is not the answer because insurance companies seeking profit from increased premiums know only one way of increasing profits, squeeze the consumer for higher premiums, additional premiums, higher co-pays, higher deductibles, additional exclusions, and longer waiting periods for coverages of chronic disease. We have YET to see anyone publicly disclose the recent study by the INSURANCE industry that explains that less than HALF of any premium dollar is actually USED to pay for medical services (utilization rate). We are a carrot and a stick economy, here’s insurance (the carrot), you get sick, you’re not covered (the stick) BUT you can buy an additional policy to help cover you (carrot) BUT next year it will cost you more or you’ll have to shop around because now you have a history (STICK). Cost controls on health services providers and health insurers MUST be part of the equation.

4) Pay attention to your legislators: Our local (state) representatives may not be big enough to fight national or even worldwide insurance companies, but these companies are licensed by each state. Websites by governors and insurance commissioners are laughable, a cartoon of a big thumbs up in the middle of wreckage, reminiscent of “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.”

Again look at the websites for doctors and insurance company lobbyists. Specificity, deception (we want you to save money this way), relentless media blitz....
There’s a lot of work to do, but it begins with clarity: Every change measured against goals, access, affordability and quality medical services.