Daily News Updates - Health Insurance News

McCain vs Obama: Common Ground, Pt.5 – Mr. McCain’s tactic; Lower the benefits.

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3)     The health insurance/care system tactic to cut medical costs by causing Americans to forego extra treatment that they don’t really need by raising the cost to the individual is two-pronged. On the one hand, yes it would effectively reduce the 30% to 40% of unnecessary, wasteful, even dangerous treatment. Though, often times the hapless patient doesn’t have the wherewithal to know what ‘medically unnecessary’ is. Sometimes they might, but not be in a position to stop it. Like in a trauma situation, where the trauma center decides to go camera-crazy with a half-dozen $1,000 CAT Scan shots. The patient doesn’t have much say in the matter, even if their health insurance won’t pay for it and it comes out of their pocket. This may save the health insurance carrier money, but the patient gets nailed.

So this tactic isn’t a ‘fix-all’ to cut medical costs in the health insurance/care system, but it would have an affect. Certainly it will serve to curtail flagrant abusers, but studies show the affect that is already taking place for the 25 million-strong ‘under-insured’ population who are in this situation already. A substantial percentage of those with skimped-down health insurance plans simply forego all treatment possible, starting with preventive care.

The losers in the big picture are those who don’t respect the fact that preventive care would save, both the consumer and the health insurance companies the much more costly expense of treatment of latter care.

This measure weighs well toward the micro-objective of lowering medical costs. As far as its effectiveness toward the ‘vision’ that carries the greater weight, it may not stack up. Remember, that vision is to “avail effective health insurance to all Americans.” For the facts and a more complete understanding, please refer to the article “Myth Buster 101, Pt.5”.

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