Those lazy, hazy (health care debate) days of summer
Kathy Heicher
Posted: 09.04.2009 / 11:59 AM PDT
As far as summers go, this has been a great one. One of the advantages of being laid-off of work is the extra recreation time. I’ve spent the summer the way Colorado mountain people do: hiking, fishing, camping, floating the river, mushroom-hunting forays, and wildflower photography trips. And on every outing, the topic of health care has cropped up.
While hiking up a trail that eventually yielded a spectacular view of the Mount of the Holy Cross, a doctor’s wife talked about the health care system. Her husband is concerned about a new pay system that rewards doctors based on daily patient volume. That poses some quantity versus quality issues that create a troubling situation for a doctor who likes to take his time with each patient.
Our town is served by two medical organizations. One is non-profit; the other is for profit. The non-profit is obligated to accept uninsured patients. The private, for-profit operation can (and does) turn them away. There are some issues there.
A neighbor, chatting while pulling weeds from a flower garden, suspects that everybody’s medical and insurance costs are unfairly being run up by illegal immigrants who are working the system.
On a float trip, a friend describes a recent serious tumble he took, that left him with aching ribs and possibly other injuries. He headed to the local hospital, where the doctors talked about checking him for possible kidney damage. Then the hospital staff noted that the cost of the proposed MRI was $4,000. They wanted payment in advance. The fellow has health insurance, but with a very high deductible. The hospital staff was astonished when he walked away without the test. He’s doing fine, but worries a bit that some delayed problem could crop up.
At a wedding reception, a friend says her husband, who has long had a bad knee, is contemplating knee replacement surgery. That has now become a rush situation. The company she works is considering discontinuing employee insurance because the cost is expected to triple next year. Fearing that a new insurance company would refuse to cover a pre-existing medical condition, the woman and her husband are scrambling to visit specialists in Denver and get that surgery scheduled before the end of the year.
During friendly discussion at a summer potluck dinner, an electrician with a couple of employees voices his concern that health care reform is moving too fast. He acknowledges the need for changes. His concern, as a small businessman, is that he will be required to provide insurance for his employees. That would be a huge budgetary hit on his business.
Another friend in a construction-related business has long been self-insured. He stands in long lines every year at community health fairs that offer medical screenings at little or no cost. He suggests that what is really needed is some sort of tiered health care system that rewards people who take steps to stay in good health (such as by not smoking, watching their weight, or drinking only in moderation). He would love to see a public option competing with the private insurance companies. He believes the competition would lower the costs, and possibly improve the coverage.
So, when I go the community “Town Hall” meetings where our congressman and senator come to the valley to discuss health care, I’m not impressed with the well-heeled, retired white guys that grab the front row seats and loudly declare that nothing is wrong with the system. Actually, not all that much is right with the current situation. People who don’t believe it should maybe take a hike, and listen to what their friends are saying.
