SavannahMann
Platinum Member
- Nov 16, 2016
- 14,073
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When I was a boy, Resturants had stickers in the window near the door showing what credit cards they accepted. Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Diners Club, and so on. There were even advertisements to get you to sign up for a credit card. If you go to this place you can do amazing things, and see incredible sights. But they don't take MasterCard, so you'll need American Express.
One thing that has always made me wonder is why Health Insurance is so different from auto insurance. Let's say I drive from Georgia to Oregon to visit family or friends. While in Portland my car is struck by another motorist. What happens? My Insurance doesn't tell me that I'm out of network. My Deductable doesn't change. My coverage is not useless. The standards in the contract remain in effect. My car can get repaired, the shops in Oregon are not out of network. The insurance company doesn't tell me that they will only cover 60% of the repairs.
Yet, if I fall down the stairs and am injured, my health insurance tells me that I am out of network. My Deductable doesn't change, but how much the insurance company is willing to pay does. This despite the fact that the insurance company has Doctors in networks in the state.
If an auto insurance company acted like a health insurance company they would be blacklisted in every state. The Better Business folks would give them a big red F as a review. Consumer Reports would issue warnings about them. Congress would hold hearings, and demand answers. Laws would be proposed to stop this criminal behavior. You get the point.
Why don't we have the insurance companies issue policies like the ones we get for our cars? Why not have the Doctors put up stickers like the businesses did in the old days showing what they accepted. Blue Cross, Aetna, Cigna, and whatever others there are. Any Doctor who is signed on with Blue Cross accepts your Blue Cross insurance.
This national approach would make it easier for everyone. Easier on the insurance companies, easier on the doctors, and easier on us. Just enter the card information and the coverage is right there no matter where you are.
Yes this is the obvious answer. It allows for competition between the insurance companies, and allows for coverage as Doctors get exclusive deals with insurance carriers. But most Doctors won't want to limit their ability to make money, and serve their patients. So most will be like the Hotels that had stickers galore on the window. Every credit card would be listed. Why reduce the ability of a customer to pay, and lose the business?
This is the simple fix that would make healthcare better for all. But we don't even discuss it. Instead we shout at each other. Single payer, which is generally speaking problematic in most places. Government out of healthcare is the next shout. Yet, pure free market capitalism never works large scale. Regulated Capitalism works best large scale. By regulated I mean things like antitrust and standards of conduct.
The insurance companies already have contracts with doctors in just about every other state. Yet my Georgia Blue Cross isn't even acceptable or in network through Georgia. There are no Doctors in Atlanta on my plan. So if I go to the "big city" and am injured, despite being a few hours from home, I am out of network. I'm still in the state, just out of my network.
Let's discuss realistic choices to fix the problems. Government mandates are useful, but not always the best approach. And if the Government is going to mandate, shouldn't they mandate things that improve the protections the citizens enjoy instead of locking everyone into a system that is geographically limited in an arbitrary manner?
One thing that has always made me wonder is why Health Insurance is so different from auto insurance. Let's say I drive from Georgia to Oregon to visit family or friends. While in Portland my car is struck by another motorist. What happens? My Insurance doesn't tell me that I'm out of network. My Deductable doesn't change. My coverage is not useless. The standards in the contract remain in effect. My car can get repaired, the shops in Oregon are not out of network. The insurance company doesn't tell me that they will only cover 60% of the repairs.
Yet, if I fall down the stairs and am injured, my health insurance tells me that I am out of network. My Deductable doesn't change, but how much the insurance company is willing to pay does. This despite the fact that the insurance company has Doctors in networks in the state.
If an auto insurance company acted like a health insurance company they would be blacklisted in every state. The Better Business folks would give them a big red F as a review. Consumer Reports would issue warnings about them. Congress would hold hearings, and demand answers. Laws would be proposed to stop this criminal behavior. You get the point.
Why don't we have the insurance companies issue policies like the ones we get for our cars? Why not have the Doctors put up stickers like the businesses did in the old days showing what they accepted. Blue Cross, Aetna, Cigna, and whatever others there are. Any Doctor who is signed on with Blue Cross accepts your Blue Cross insurance.
This national approach would make it easier for everyone. Easier on the insurance companies, easier on the doctors, and easier on us. Just enter the card information and the coverage is right there no matter where you are.
Yes this is the obvious answer. It allows for competition between the insurance companies, and allows for coverage as Doctors get exclusive deals with insurance carriers. But most Doctors won't want to limit their ability to make money, and serve their patients. So most will be like the Hotels that had stickers galore on the window. Every credit card would be listed. Why reduce the ability of a customer to pay, and lose the business?
This is the simple fix that would make healthcare better for all. But we don't even discuss it. Instead we shout at each other. Single payer, which is generally speaking problematic in most places. Government out of healthcare is the next shout. Yet, pure free market capitalism never works large scale. Regulated Capitalism works best large scale. By regulated I mean things like antitrust and standards of conduct.
The insurance companies already have contracts with doctors in just about every other state. Yet my Georgia Blue Cross isn't even acceptable or in network through Georgia. There are no Doctors in Atlanta on my plan. So if I go to the "big city" and am injured, despite being a few hours from home, I am out of network. I'm still in the state, just out of my network.
Let's discuss realistic choices to fix the problems. Government mandates are useful, but not always the best approach. And if the Government is going to mandate, shouldn't they mandate things that improve the protections the citizens enjoy instead of locking everyone into a system that is geographically limited in an arbitrary manner?
