Exposing The Myths Associated With Healthcare
Given that consumer-driven healthcare has been a major theme on this blog this week, I thought I’d highlight a column written by Robert Samuelson published in today’s Washington Post. In his editorial, Samuelson exposes some of the common myths associated with American healthcare. He argues:
-Contrary to conventional wisdom, the doubling of premiums for employer-provided coverage doesn’t mean companies shifted a greater share of costs to workers
-The uninsured don’t really use emergency rooms heavily. A study in the journal Health Affairs finds that their use is similar to that of people with private insurance — and half that of people with Medicaid.
In conclusion he asks:
“Our health-care system will inevitably combine government regulation and private enterprise. But what should the mix be? How important is health care compared with other public and private goals? Will an expanding health-care sector spur the economy — or, through high taxes and insurance premiums, retard it?”
Clearly, we are well into an era where policymakers and others are taking steps to expose the true costs and benefits of healthcare to Joe Public. In fact, Michael E. Chernew Allison B. Rosen and A. Mark Fendrick recently published an article in Health Affairs arguing for “value-based” insurance. These are plans that encourage “the use of services when the clinical benefits exceed the cost and likewise discourages the use of services when the benefits do not justify the cost.” Of course the big question is: who will define value?
Source: The Health Affairs Blog
