Giving your healthcare away to others explains why narrow healthcare networks have emerged under Obamacare. This week the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) published a three-year study based on a Massachusetts healthcare plan for state employees. The results of the study show that healthcare spending fell by 40% for employees enrolled in narrow healthcare networks.
How Does Saving Money Equal Giving Your Healthcare Away?
In Massachusetts the situation was different from Obamacare. The narrow networks were designed to save cost and the savings were passed through to employees willing to give up services they would have to pay for out of their own pocket.
Who’s Giving Your Healthcare Away?
Under Obamacare, the federal government is giving your healthcare away. While the patient protection portion of Obamacare brings great benefit to many, unfortunately, cost savings is not one of them. In fact, in many cases where there are no subsidies, Obamacare results in a cost increase for subscribers. That means the cost savings resulting from the narrow network is being used to subsidize services for someone else.
Is this the best system we can come up with? It’s the lack of transparency and competition within insurance markets that is partially to blame. Think about the last time you had to choose a new healthcare plan. It’s nearly impossible to figure out what’s covered and what’s not. The odds of winning in Las Vegas often seem better than the odds of choosing the best healthcare plan.
The Injured Money, Einstein Challenge
As a way of demonstrating there is a lack of competition and transparency in healthcare is a major problem, Injured Money presents the Albert Einstein challenge. Participating is easy. First, do an internet search of “Albert Einstein Special Relativity” and read whatever looks most interesting for three minutes. Next, go to your health insurance providers website look for information explaining what’s covered and what’s not. Again, read for three minutes. At the end of this six-minute period we predict you will be equally capable of explaining Einstein’s theory for special relativity as you are able to your health insurance plan. While insurance plans obviously could be made very easy to understand, the industry has not done this. To the insurance industry we say, “C’mon, if you wanted customers to understand what you’re selling, you could do better than this!”
With transparency and competition, all types of insurance would be both understandable and more cost-effective. Follow ValChoicee to learn how to drive competition and transparency into the insurance industry. Click here to follow ValChoice.
No comments yet.