Thinking back on that last post, about how it takes all of us to curb medical spending, reminded me of my personal attitude adjustment on this issue.
My health plan puts claims online so I can track them, and also shows what I paid and what the plan paid. That was an eye-opener. I thought I was pretty low-maintenance, not a drain on the plan. But my two little meds for a skin condition really add up: between co-pay and insurance coverage, they cost $200 a month, more than my premium share.
Working for a health plan has made me conscious of medical costs. So I researched my options at RegenceRx.com. I found that hydrocortisone cream controls the same symptoms as the prescription I used, for only $5 a tube (less for store-brand). After awhile, I didn’t even need it every day, just every few weeks.
Unfortunately, they don’t make a hydrocortisone shampoo (unless you’re a dog). But I got a valuable clue from RegenceRx.com: both my meds were considered “anti-fungal” (ew!). A Google search showed vinegar has anti-fungal properties. I left some vinegar on my scalp for several minutes before shampooing and voila--that works too!
It was fun to find such easy and cheap solutions, but how come I had to find them myself? No doctor in 15 years of taking those meds offered any alternatives. But then, no vinegar salesmen go to my doctor’s office and buy her staff pizza so she will recommend it.
For about $35 a year, I took myself off two meds and saved $450 in co-pays and $1900 for the health plan -- Unbelievable!! I told my doctor to note I was no longer taking those meds, and that she should pass the word to other patients so they could try it. She just looked kind of bemused. “But those meds are covered,” she said.
“Covered” doesn’t mean “free” – somebody still pays. In fact, everybody pays. That’s why reform can’t stop with health insurance. It will take an attitude adjustment.
My little DIY solution cut almost $10,000 in spending by my health plan – that is, me and my co-workers – in just four years. This didn’t take months of research, settling for less or changing my lifestyle. It just took changing my attitude.
If you’ve had one of those attitude adjustments, maybe you could share it at our Facebook page.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
One word makes a big difference
Have you noticed the change? I'm talking about the change in the debate over health care reform. Lots of Washington politicians, now on their August break, have started focusing on health insurance reform rather than health care system reform. It might look like just a little shift in wording, but there's a big difference. What should the debate be focused on?
The whole point of reform is to control the costs that have sharply increased over the last decade. Can we really resolve this problem by looking only at insurance?
It would be great if that was the case. And focusing just on health insurance reform might be tempting, because that's the bill we get in the mail, so we're super-aware of it. Actually, health insurance reform will be the easiest thing we could do this year, since all the insurers have already agreed on key reforms that everyone wants.
But health insurance doesn't come close to reflecting the total cost of health care.
Unfortunately, there is no one cause for the skyrocketing costs. Rather, several issues have caused our health care system to become overly expensive. It's true that insurers have played their part. But they have plenty of company! Focusing only on health insurance reform won't get the job done.
Drug companies, the government, doctors, hospitals, and even all of us as consumers have also had a hand in creating this situation. Drug companies charge a lot for certain medicines. Politicians make rules about things like Medicare reimbursements. Hospitals and doctors know they'll earn more money by doing costly interventions, while we as patients have almost no control over the amounts that hospitals and doctors charge.
I know it's a big job, but all of these factors need to be addressed -- and that includes each one of us! We can all make an effort to adopt healthier lifestyles. We can research health issues and treatment options on the internet. We can talk to our doctors about the least expensive yet most effective care. We've got to see ourselves as the central actor in our own health care story. And we can economize on medical care the way that we do with our other expenses.
We're all in this together. Keep checking back here for ideas about how to reform the whole health care system.
-- Susan with Regence
The whole point of reform is to control the costs that have sharply increased over the last decade. Can we really resolve this problem by looking only at insurance?
It would be great if that was the case. And focusing just on health insurance reform might be tempting, because that's the bill we get in the mail, so we're super-aware of it. Actually, health insurance reform will be the easiest thing we could do this year, since all the insurers have already agreed on key reforms that everyone wants.
But health insurance doesn't come close to reflecting the total cost of health care.
Unfortunately, there is no one cause for the skyrocketing costs. Rather, several issues have caused our health care system to become overly expensive. It's true that insurers have played their part. But they have plenty of company! Focusing only on health insurance reform won't get the job done.
Drug companies, the government, doctors, hospitals, and even all of us as consumers have also had a hand in creating this situation. Drug companies charge a lot for certain medicines. Politicians make rules about things like Medicare reimbursements. Hospitals and doctors know they'll earn more money by doing costly interventions, while we as patients have almost no control over the amounts that hospitals and doctors charge.
I know it's a big job, but all of these factors need to be addressed -- and that includes each one of us! We can all make an effort to adopt healthier lifestyles. We can research health issues and treatment options on the internet. We can talk to our doctors about the least expensive yet most effective care. We've got to see ourselves as the central actor in our own health care story. And we can economize on medical care the way that we do with our other expenses.
We're all in this together. Keep checking back here for ideas about how to reform the whole health care system.
-- Susan with Regence
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
The power of a question, and the answer
This doctor has a couple of great stories about the “medical industrial complex” and why health care reform is hard-- http://tinyurl.com/THCB-lobster-and-lap-choley
After the lobster-salad analogy, he talks about high-tech driving up medical spending, not always for the better. I could relate to his example: gallbladder surgery. Full disclosure–I have gallstones (maybe TMI).
The pain felt like a sword sticking through me right under the rib cage. My doctor said, “Classic gallstone attack, we’ll get CT scan to be sure.” The scan showed a gallbladder that looked like a bag of marbles. The doctor advised removal of the gallbladder: “With laparoscopic surgery, you hardly even have a scar.”
“Doesn’t the gallbladder have a job to do?” I asked. The doctor agreed it did. “Is it necessary to take it out?” She said no, it wasn’t, but I should avoid fats and eating too close to bed time to avert future attacks.
I also went to a licensed naturopathic doctor and he gave me the same dietary advice, plus a pain remedy: peppermint oil pills.
Apparently, peppermint oil soothes spasms, like when a gallstone blocks the bile duct. The pills were about $17 in the grocery store’s health food section. At my next attack: 2 peppermint oil pills, and 10 minutes later – horrendous pain is gone! After 7 years, I’m only on the second bottle of pills. I raved about the peppermint oil -- it helped my friend’s cramps and my brother-in-law’s lower back pain, too.
Guess I could have had the operation, but just I wanted to stop the pain and keep all my working parts. Did you know that gallbladder removal is one of the most common surgeries in the U.S. and the #1 reason is pain. Wonder how many of those people would choose peppermint oil over surgery?
I asked some questions, checked the Internet, got another opinion and found a treatment that worked for me. More disclosure – yes, I had health insurance at the time; no, I did not work for an insurance company then.
It wasn’t about the money, but now I see how each decision impacts the money. We can all ask "Why?" and "How much?", without an act of Congress. You never know what could happen.
Susan with Regence
After the lobster-salad analogy, he talks about high-tech driving up medical spending, not always for the better. I could relate to his example: gallbladder surgery. Full disclosure–I have gallstones (maybe TMI).
The pain felt like a sword sticking through me right under the rib cage. My doctor said, “Classic gallstone attack, we’ll get CT scan to be sure.” The scan showed a gallbladder that looked like a bag of marbles. The doctor advised removal of the gallbladder: “With laparoscopic surgery, you hardly even have a scar.”
“Doesn’t the gallbladder have a job to do?” I asked. The doctor agreed it did. “Is it necessary to take it out?” She said no, it wasn’t, but I should avoid fats and eating too close to bed time to avert future attacks.
I also went to a licensed naturopathic doctor and he gave me the same dietary advice, plus a pain remedy: peppermint oil pills.
Apparently, peppermint oil soothes spasms, like when a gallstone blocks the bile duct. The pills were about $17 in the grocery store’s health food section. At my next attack: 2 peppermint oil pills, and 10 minutes later – horrendous pain is gone! After 7 years, I’m only on the second bottle of pills. I raved about the peppermint oil -- it helped my friend’s cramps and my brother-in-law’s lower back pain, too.
Guess I could have had the operation, but just I wanted to stop the pain and keep all my working parts. Did you know that gallbladder removal is one of the most common surgeries in the U.S. and the #1 reason is pain. Wonder how many of those people would choose peppermint oil over surgery?
I asked some questions, checked the Internet, got another opinion and found a treatment that worked for me. More disclosure – yes, I had health insurance at the time; no, I did not work for an insurance company then.
It wasn’t about the money, but now I see how each decision impacts the money. We can all ask "Why?" and "How much?", without an act of Congress. You never know what could happen.
Susan with Regence
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