Why I'm not the one to fix health care
Yeppo, health care needs to be fixed.
Somewhere along the line, I'm convinced we're going to have to take a leap of faith. And hope those dealing the cards are smarter than the average bear. My dilemma is when and where to jump.
I need more when told a public option will force competition among health care providers. Perhaps that would be enough if we were talking simple one-on-one competition. But I know enough (some say to be dangerous) to know it's not that simple.
The corporation my husband lately retired from provides some health care (I won't say all, we pay our part, a part that is dramatically rising BTW) for more than 30,000 employees and I don't know how many retirees.
The corporation offers a handful of health care plans, each by a different insurance company. However, the corporation is actually self insured, meaning, simplistically, that the health care providers really only administrate. The company pays the bills.
That's the extent of my understanding. I'm sure it's a lot more complicated than that. But even knowing that much tells me that simple competition between insurance companies is not, well, simple. At least in this case, the insurance company is only the middle man. Here, apparently, the public option is competing with the profits of not only the insurance company, but the underlying corporation's pockets.
Here's hoping all I've been hearing about solutions is purposefully being dumbed down for my benefit.
I apologize for all the cliches. They're the haven of a struggling mind, doncha know.
Somewhere along the line, I'm convinced we're going to have to take a leap of faith. And hope those dealing the cards are smarter than the average bear. My dilemma is when and where to jump.
I need more when told a public option will force competition among health care providers. Perhaps that would be enough if we were talking simple one-on-one competition. But I know enough (some say to be dangerous) to know it's not that simple.
The corporation my husband lately retired from provides some health care (I won't say all, we pay our part, a part that is dramatically rising BTW) for more than 30,000 employees and I don't know how many retirees.
The corporation offers a handful of health care plans, each by a different insurance company. However, the corporation is actually self insured, meaning, simplistically, that the health care providers really only administrate. The company pays the bills.
That's the extent of my understanding. I'm sure it's a lot more complicated than that. But even knowing that much tells me that simple competition between insurance companies is not, well, simple. At least in this case, the insurance company is only the middle man. Here, apparently, the public option is competing with the profits of not only the insurance company, but the underlying corporation's pockets.
Here's hoping all I've been hearing about solutions is purposefully being dumbed down for my benefit.
I apologize for all the cliches. They're the haven of a struggling mind, doncha know.
posted by Nan at 4:47 PM
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