Wait, wait, this was supposed to bend the cost curve Down…
It is also ironic that high-deductible, catastrophic plans are precisely what young people should be buying in the first place. They are inexpensive because they provide coverage for unlikely, but expensive, events. Routine care is best paid for out-of-pocket by value conscious consumers. But Obamacare outlaws these plans, in favor of what amounts to prepaid medical treatment that shifts the cost of services to taxpayers. In such a system, patients have no incentive to contain costs. Since the biggest factor driving health care costs higher in the first place has been the over use of insurance that results from government-provided tax incentives, and the lack of cost accountability that results from a third-party payer system, Obamacare will bend the cost curve even higher. The fact that Obamacare does nothing to rein in costs while providing an open-ended insurance subsidy may be good news for hospitals and insurance companies, but it’s bad news for taxpayers, on whom this increased burden will ultimately fall.
via Peter Schiff Blasts “The Website Is Fixable, Obamacare Isn’t!” | Zero Hedge.
Lack of skin in the game.
Longtime reader, first time poster here.
The problem is that we want people to come in for preventative care- which they won’t if there’s skin in the game. The theory is that if we (insurers/taxpayers) pay for a colonoscopy now, we won’t have to pay for chemotherapy and surgery later. Under a high deductible plan- we’re stuck paying for the surgery and chemo. Are there financial savings? No- because we don’t know who’s going to get Colon CA to any degree of accuracy.
There is a myth that preventive care saves money. First we will not reduce ER visits with the ACA:
http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2013/10/emergency-departments-remain-safety-net-decades.html
Colonoscopies, not so fast!
http://www.healthnewsreview.org/2013/10/beware-the-polyp-police/
Rushed care.
http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2013/09/dissection-needless-hospitalization.html
Annual physicals?
http://www.healthnewsreview.org/2013/09/star-tribune-is-wrong-about-experts-recommending-annual-physicals/
There was a very nice Dutch study a few years ago that showed preventive care increases overall medical cost due to over testing and longer lives. This did not get much play here in the US since it does not tie into the more is better mantra.
There is one simple point; here in the US we spend twice what other countries do on medical care without better outcome. How is spending more or increasing patient visits going to improve patient care or control cost?
Steve Lucas
Likewise you will need wholesale pet insurance to make
sure that you get the right protection founded on the needs that
are unique to the property.