Medical Insurance and You

I have been hearing lots about a push again for Federal Medical Insurance, you know kind of like the ones they have in Europe and Canada. Please, Please do not be fooled into believing this is even close to a good idea. Does the insurance industry in the U.S. need to be revamped? It sure does, but not by letting the Feds control what does and doesn't get paid for. The best way to insure that you the American citizen gets qaulity medical care and benefits is by keeping competition in the insurance industry. Competition fuels qaulity. No competition means people can care even less.

I think the first rule is for people to understand the role medical insurance plays in our life. There is prevailing attitude out there that 1. If I have insurance, I shouldn't have to pay for anything and 2. Doctors and the insurance companies are out to screw me.

Lets look at # 1. For starters do you know of any insurance that pays completely for a service?
How about car insurance, you have to pay a deductible and then depending on your policy you may have other costs or you may not. Your deductible is totally dependent on how much you decide you want to pay monthly. Want to pay more, less deductible, want to pay less, higher deductible. Next, how about homeowners insurance? You pay a yearly fee, which covers or doesn;t cover everything from destruction by fire to flood, force of nature etc... You pay more, for more coverage. How about if you buy a house in January insure it for 250,000. By May property values have doubled and your house burns down. If you choose to rebuild your same house, it will now cost $500,000. Your insurance will only cover $250,000. Get the point.
Medical works much the same, they will cover the small things, but once big ticket items appear, you better make sure you were paying for that possiblity ahead of time, or it won't get covered.

Lets look at #2. The first thing you need to remember is YOU are the customer. The second is the doctor IS NOT in kahoots with the ins. co. The doctor is just someone the insurance company needs to send money to on your behalf. As far as the insurance company is concerned, the doctor is a thorn in their side. Without YOU (or your employer) the insurance company has no income. Ultimately the people have control (in the big picture) of how the insurance company acts. Too often, people don't understand that relationship.

How can YOU help change things. You could start by creating a group at work (co-workers) to really examine your companies policy. Often you are given the "summary of benefits" but that tells you sqaut. As an employee, by law, you have a right to a copy of the full nuts and bolts policy. What is covered what isn't, what's excluded etc. In big companies, most are self funded even though the administration is through a company like Blue Cross or Aetna. In those, its possible to craft your own actual policies, coverage vs. exclusions.

We do need to change things but not by letting the Feds control it. If they do, there will come a point in everyone's life where a loved one will be forced to suffer in some way because the government says so. Didn't think Big Brother could happen, think again. Digest this for a little, I'll have more in the near future.