Can one person really make a difference?

It's an understatement to say a lot of people are involved in pushing for health care reform. Trying to follow the progress can feel overwhelming. Even when we do our best to stay informed, it's hard at times not to wonder where each of us fits in as individuals. Are the decision-makers going pay attention to what one person has to say?

The current health care system lets us get away with being quiet, with being poorly informed and being far removed from decisions.

My mind was wandering over these things as I was doing a few chores around the house, rinsing out some aluminum cans to put in the recycling bin. I put the bin out on the sidewalk and looked down the block and saw all the other blue bins in front of the other houses. I imagined all the blue bins across the neighborhood. And it reminded me: my individual actions do matter and together our actions make a difference that affects others.

Recycling used to be a “fringe” idea, now it’s the norm. Some individuals doing what they believed in came to influence groups of people and whole cities and states and countries. This is why each person's voice is needed and our health care system needs every voice. As more people ask questions of the health care system like, "Tell me more," the more the system is going to change the way it reacts to us, change its assumptions about what we want and the way care should be delivered. It could start with each of us sitting in an examining room, asking the doctor, about a prescription being written, “Is there a generic version?” or what about “Tell me about this new procedure. What’s better about it? Are there alternatives? What is the cost, by the way?”

Speaking up is taking charge. Know the options. Ask why. We’re an equal partner in our health care decisions – it’s about our body, our preferences, our money. And, just like recycling, I do this because I believe in it and because it helps more than me, it helps the community. If I take time and do internet research, maybe avoid a few unnecessary doctor visits and procedures, I'm helping to keep costs down for the group of people that together pay for my medical care, and I for theirs.

When it comes to health care reform, I can email my congressmen, write letters to the editor, blog, and go to meetings. I can also speak up when it matters – in my doctor’s office. This is one more way I can contribute to the well-being of the entire community. I hope you will contribute too – if this speaks to your experience, please share this blog with your friends and family.

– Susan with Regence

Why is it so hard to ask the doctor, "how much?"

Does anybody else feel weird asking the cost of a lab test or a screening or even a check-up? I do. I was looking for a new dentist, one in my neighborhood, and I poked my head in the door of a small clinic and asked the woman at the desk, “How much is a routine cleaning?” Then she asked me, “Don’t you have insurance?” “Yes, but how much is a routine cleaning?” “Well, there’s not really such a thing as routine, you might need something else.” “Yeah, but you must have a baseline, what is it?”

At this point, a guy poked his head out from behind a screen, facemask on, tools in hand, and looked out at me through the doorway, like, “Who IS that?” Okay, now I’m getting weirded out – why should I feel bad for asking?

Eventually, I found a dentist through word of mouth – not that one. But the feeling lingers that if I do have insurance, I’m not supposed to ask the cost of treatment. My doctor asks me to sign a paper saying I’m responsible for costs, just in case, and she doesn’t even know what they are.

But when I buy a car or a computer or take a trip, I look up the prices and see what people say about those products or places. Why shouldn’t I do that with a doctor or hospital or treatment? When it’s not an emergency, at least.

The $10 or $20 co-pay has been the norm my whole adult life until I got one of those high-deductible plans last year. I never thought to ask about cost or necessity. And there’s a couple of generations of people who aren’t used to asking these questions. In that time, medical costs have gone crazy and people can’t afford coverage.

Now, the government is telling us we have to “bend the cost curve” so we can afford health coverage for everybody. These researchers from Dartmouth say maybe one-third of all treatment is unneeded. But how do we know when to say “no”? I guess that’s why we have to ask questions. And look things up on the Internet. And ask around.

Maybe if we start asking questions, we could start bending the cost curve ourselves.

What do you think?

Susan with Regence

Doesn't it feel as if everywhere you look these days, people are talking about health care reform? It's there on the daytime talk shows and the nightly news. Maybe you know someone who's worried about changes in their job's health plan. As the summer gets into full swing, and we're getting together at barbecues and the swimming pool, we're all thinking about these discussions and talking to each other. Health care is such a high priority. It's deeply personal. It touches a nerve.

And yet the main debates about health care reform are taking place in Washington, D.C., which feels so far away from most of us. You might have heard about three bills that are floating around Congress. Two of them include proposals for a government-run insurance plan, known as a public plan. The other one seems to be considering the idea of nonprofit health cooperatives, in which members control and own the co-op.

What's not included in any of these proposals? How to take waste and unnecessary costs out of the system.

We've got to take a good look at the cost of reform for each of us right now. Health care reform is a huge undertaking, and it's vital that we get a handle on the costs involved for everyone — taxpayers, insurers, doctors, and each one of us. In his proposal President Obama gives reforms ten years to pay for themselves. But that's what's going on in Washington. What about closer to home?

Because we're all connected in this undertaking, and we've all got to ask: What can I do right now? How can I contribute? Think about it: the last time you went to get a medical test or see a specialist, did you have any idea what the price tag was for the procedure or visit? We need to make that interaction between patient, doctor, and health insurer more transparent and open. And that's just one aspect of the overall health care reform undertaking.

Despite the big challenges — and the little, nagging fears we quietly share with our friends and family about our health and that of our children — we need health care reform that not only covers the uninsured but is mindful about costs in the here and now, when I walk into my doctor's office. This blog is the place where we try to make sense of the cost of health care reform. Keep checking back to stay informed and be part of the discussion.

~Susan with Regence