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
