Comments on: In Obama Reform Push, Medicare Leads The Way

By: Health Care. (united health care, universal health care) » Blog Archive » Top 10 Health Affairs Blog Posts For March

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 16:05:47 +0000

[...] In Obama Reform Push, Medicare Leads The Way by Len Nichols [...]

By: Christopher Hughes

Christopher Hughes — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 01:26:22 +0000

“Highly respected analysts estimate that more than 30 percent of what we spend on health care does not add clinical value. Think of it this way: the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) projects that total health spending in 2016 will be $4 trillion. If we could cut spending that does not add clinical value by just 10 percent per year for ten years, total health spending would be $900 billion lower.”

With this in mind. let me ask a question that comes up in a variety of ways among my fellow physicians: what value do private insurance companies add to healthcare? I think we can come up with a list as long as my arm on how they add cost and reduce the value to policy holders, but can we come up with a list of things they do to add value?

This is particularly important because the political winds seem to be blowing in a particular way, and as they do, one thing that keeps coming up is the idea that everyone must have insurance. Being forced to buy insurance from a private insurer ($15K a year at our house – from a “not-for-profit” !) is obviously not an option for most, especially considering the median family income is only about $60K. Medicare spends anywhere from $6K to $14K per enrollee (65 and over, mind you). So is a public option the best solution for most families?

More to the point, why would a private option ever be chosen? And how much would we have to subsidize a lower income family to buy private insurance to provide the same set of benefits as a public plan like Medicare?

Cheers,

By: In Obama Reform Push, Medicare Leads The Way

In Obama Reform Push, Medicare Leads The Way — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 22:00:34 +0000

[...] Go here to read the rest: In Obama Reform Push, Medicare Leads The Way [...]

By: Topics about Health, Food and Well being » Archive » In Obama Reform Push, Medicare Leads The Way

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 21:16:23 +0000

[...] The Greanville Journal added an interesting post on In Obama Reform Push, Medicare Leads The WayHere’s a small excerpt…that all Americans can afford Bhealth/B Binsurance/B and access high-quality Bhealth/B care, while ensuring our nation can afford our Bhealth/B care… [...]