Saturday, May 19, 2007

Is this an oxymoron? "For Profit-Managed Health Care"

I respectfully am making an inquiry based on some information I have been thinking about lately.

I have MS, and last week was a volunteer for the MS camp at camp courage. Helping those who cannot help themselves certainly makes you think about health care and its future.

Good health care is something that so many people don’t really seem too concerned about unless they are in poor health, or don’t have good health care. I am lucky. I currently do have quite good health care. I also don’t need many special services at this time.

I find that there are too many healthy people not thinking about this issue because they are not sick or in poor health. When it matters, it may be too late. In fact, I probably was one of those people. My opinion too, is that too many people don’t think we need to change our health care system. Again, because they don’t need it, or they are healthy.

Besides keeping in touch with my legislators, I was wondering if you had any advice or suggestions on what a concerned citizen could do to affect change on our health care system.

I also would like an opinion too on my thoughts against managed health care. I know corporations are powerful and good institutions, however, I do not believe, anymore, that the health of a society should be associated with any type of “for profit” organization.

I do believe doctors who have studied and excelled in their field should be well paid, but not a bureaucratic person or organization who manages an individual or group of individual’s health.

Am I misguided in my thoughts or just uninformed? I would like to think that a governmental organization or a non-profit organization professionally managing my health care with support of my physician would make better decisions for me than a for-profit organization.

Now I also realize that people with more money will be paying more for better doctors and services. I do think and know that the more money individuals have, the more they are willing to pay for superior health care. But I also believe that the general health of a population should have a high-quality option that would keep an eye on costs and say no because something does not make sense, rather than say no because it would erode profitability.

Please let me know if you have any comments or suggestions.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Doug,

I believe that there are serious problems with our current health-care system.

First, I just don't think that access to quality health care should be tied to your job. I'd like to see some kind of national health-care system, which just about every other Western, industrialized country has.

I realize that those systems aren't perfect, and people with money can always go outside them if they don't like the care being offered. And I don't think it's a very likely possibility in this country.

Still, if you look at one of the biggest strains on American businesses today, especially small businesses, it is the spiraling cost of health care. Employees are increasingly being forced to shoulder a larger percentage of the cost.

When people who don't have insurance get sick, they still get treated, often in hospital emergency rooms, the least cost-effective place. And in the end, we all pay for it.

Wouldn't it be smarter, and more cost effective, if everyone had access to a certain base level of care, so that they have a primary care physician, so that problems could be treated before they become emergencies?

Esther

Anonymous said...

Doug I agree with you 100%. I have worked in health care for 10 years in home care and nursing homes. Part of the reason I started my own business is to get away from as much of the beurocratic "stuff" as I can.
People is this and every country's greatest asset. There should not be any reason why the Doctors can't do the very bst they can for others. Why else did they get into it anyway?