Living with MCL

Just read this post on the Mulitple Myeloma (MM) message board I subscribe to, which I thought of value, as it points out how little most Americans know of how the US health care system works.

I was in the hospital a few months ago and was asked if I wanted a flu and a pnuemonia shot. I thought it would be a good idea, since I don’t want to bring any nasty germs into the house and subject my MM hubby to them. Before I was released, I was told my insurance (Blue Cross) wouldn’t pay for the vaccines because I was too young. I am 48.

What surprised me the most about this post, was not the fact her insurance company denied the claim, but that she seemed surprised they did.

Doesn’t she understand how the US health care system works?

Unfortunately she, like many others, don’t understand that health care in the US is controlled by a “for profit” health insurance industry, whose priorities lie not with their policy holders in insuring the best health care possible, but rather with their share holders in the form of ever increasing profits.

They accomplish this in a number of ways, but high on the list is to deny and/or delay care whenever the opportunity arises.

And people really prefer this system of “for profit health insurers” paying the bills, over the government, who doesn’t have a vested interest in denying or delaying claims, paying the bills.

It boggles the mind, how unaware some people are of how the US health care system really works.

Of course once you get sick, you learn very quickly!

One of my passions, at least since my diagnosis, has been with health care reform.

Fortunately, the majority of the population and most candidates recognize this is an important issue, maybe even ahead of the Iraq war, and it is gaining major prominence in California, with Governor Schwarzenegger’s revised proposal for health care reform.

I applaud the governor for his effort in bring this issue to the forefront, but his new proposal has some issues, the two biggest of which are the mandate that everyone purchase health insurance, and secondly continuing to place the burden for health care on the backs of employers.

I don’t think either of those two proposals provide any meaningful reform, but they do provide the fodder, for those with a vested interest in the status quo, to successfully fight the proposal.

In that regard, I have written the following letter to Governor Schwarzenegger, outlining my suggestions for improving his proposal, which I believe can gain greater universal acceptance.

If we all band together and voice are concerns and desires, we can achieve real and meaningful reform.

There is no doubt that health care reform is a necessity for the country as well as for California, and your proposal is a step in the right direction, but falls short of providing real health care reform.

First off, requiring everyone to purchase health insurance is a non starter, as well as being unenforceable. We can’t even enforce the law requiring automobile owners and drivers to purchase auto insurance, how do you expect to enforce the requirement that everyone purchase health insurance?

If you’re going to remove the mandate that health care providers treat those without insurance, or the ability to pay, then that might work, but unfortunately that is a federal mandate, so I doubt that is feasible.

Secondly, requiring employers to provide health insurance or pay a tax, is also a non starter. That is exactly the policy we need to be getting away from, and the reason CA businesses and businesses throughout the US are non competitive in the global economy.

We have to get the burden of health care off employers altogether.

The best way to solve both those issues, and ensure that everyone contributes to the maintenance of our health care infrastructure, is to make everyone pay their fair share through a tax on consumption. That way, those that have the most money, and can afford the most, will pay the most.

This can be done in a number of ways, e.g.

1) A small percentage increase in the sales tax.
2) A increase in the gasoline tax. Not only will this provide funds for health care, but will help the environment as well, by encouraging everyone to buy more efficient automobiles.

Plus I am sure there are a number of other effective means of equitably raising taxes to fund a program everyone uses.

And just think what this will do for the business environment in California, if CA businesses no longer have to foot the bill for health insurance. Businesses will be flocking to California to produce their products, which will increase business tax revenues, providing additional funds to provide health care to everyone.

This revenue can then be used to fund the minimum level of care everyone needs, just as Medicare does for the elderly.

This will have the added benefit of relieving the burden from emergency rooms to provide free care (patients will now be able to seek care in doctors office since they will have insurance), and still leave plenty of opportunity for the health insurance industry to provide supplemental insurance to cover other expenses.

At the very least it will permit funding that unfunded mandate.