Quote from Savings Beagle on March 23, 2022, 3:43 pm

It's often said that the United States has the most advanced healthcare system in the world.  That may be true, but the cost for America's system - both healthcare and health insurance - is not even close to being a financially sound option for those paying for its services.

Tell me how much a doctor's visit costs.  Or an x-ray should you have an injury.  Or even something as simple as a flu shot.

My guess is few healthcare consumers could even venture an estimate.  Why?  Because, for most, they never even see a bill.  The cost of service is covered by the health insurance to which an individual subscribes.

And that's the problem.  When costs are unknown, there is no attempt to keep them in line.  And that's just one of the many problems with America's healthcare/insurance system.

Which is why we're now seeing the credit reporting firms Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, remove medical debts from consumers' credit reports.  It's far too easy for many Americans, even those with insurance coverage, to get into a financial mess when faced with outlandishly priced medical procedures.  Oftentimes, the prices of which aren't known until the service has already been provided.

And no, socialized medicine isn't the answer, especially when finances are considered.  Just look at the underfunding of America's Medicare and Medicaid programs and the growing financial burden they pose to the federal budget.

Answers to this significant problem aren't easy, unfortunately.

I saw this article a few days ago, and thought I'd pass it along.  A healthcare "insider" provides his/her insight on the problems with our current system.  You might be surprised by some of the observations.

More importantly, the "insider" discussed using healthcare providers outside of the traditional healthcare/insurance system as a way to get true healthcare.  The site DPcare.org offers a database of healthcare providers who work both outside, and with, the system to give consumers the best care possible.  It's not for everyone, but it's something to consider.

Check out the article "How Healthcare Became Sickcare" for all of the "insiders" thoughts on our current system.  Here's a snipit to get you going.

As your readers try to make sense of the American health system and its response to COVID, they may benefit from a brief summary of the system's current business model from someone on the inside.

It's my hope that it will help them make sense of what is going on around them.

I read, see, and hear others inside the system scared for their livelihoods if they speak out and I'm ashamed of myself, as my livelihood no longer depends on my silence.

So I'm sharing this to speak for those who can't.

For reasons beyond the scope of this study, and aside from a (very) few service lines, the delivery of healthcare is a low margin affair. Unless one keeps their overhead very low, profit is difficult to achieve.

Yet, the consolidated health systems which increasingly dominate the landscape are clearly high-overhead concerns, what with their staggering management bandwidth, gleaming palaces of healing, and obscene executive compensation.

How does one square this?

Health systems generate revenue from:

1. A (very) small number of profitable service lines, mostly plastics, some ortho, and a smattering of others.

2. Inflated book value of their commercial real estate, often untaxed due to religious/not-for-profit status.

3. Bulk and individual resale of patient information.

4. Kickbacks from suppliers, legal (purchase rebates) and illegal (direct payments).

5. Government grants.

Health systems don't make their money from the delivery of healthcare, they make their money by charging for the redirection of the firehose of third-party payments to which the delivery of healthcare grants them access. This is true for any health system which exceeds a certain fairly modest size and provides the majority of their care through third-party payers such as Medicare.

You can read the full article at this link.

Do you feel our healthcare system and how it's paid for needs reformed?  What ideas do you have to make it more responsive to the needs of those who use it while keeping the costs both for governments and individuals at reasonable and sustainable levels?