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medpundit |
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Friday, September 06, 2002The average family now pays about $8,000 a year on health costs. Barring some catastrophe, our family of six wouldn't spend this much a year on medical care if we paid for it ourselves. Our premiums for insurance, however, approach this. We would be better off if we just paid for our regular doctors visits ourselves. Could it be that insurance companies are making huge profits by charging more than they pay out in healthcare dollars? Maybe: Meanwhile, health insurers like UnitedHealth Group and WellPoint Health Networks Inc. have been delivering record profits to Wall Street, staying ahead of escalating costs. If I could, I would chose health insurance that only covered catastrophic illnesses - those requiring prolonged hospitalization, or one that had a high deductible, if the premiums were cheaper. But that sort of insurance never seems to be a choice for some reason. The insurance industry is so enmeshed in the managed care model now that they can’t come up with any alternatives, or maybe they don’t want to come up with any alternatives. As it is now, they hold all the cards. They call the shots on the premiums, they call the shots on the amount doctors and hospitals are paid. They rule the world. But, like Yertle the Turtle, they're going to come crashing down when the rest of us turtles can no longer support them. posted by Sydney on 9/06/2002 05:56:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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