Quote:
Originally Posted by d-ray657
I would suggest that some of the complexity of the reporting requirements imposed by insurance companies arises from trying to meet (or beat) the regulations in each state in which they operate. The insurance companies have their own entrenched bureaucracies. I would hope that by being able to trim the bureaucracy, they would be better able to deliver coverage and still make their precious profits.
Regards,
D-Ray
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That may be a part of it, but I think the larger aspect is that different companies require their own proprietary forms, offer different deductibles, have different levels of coverage (if any) for particular treatments, and have employees who are instructed to send back/deny any forms/claims that are not letter-perfect. Compounding this problem is the fee-for-service model that pays for each checkmark the doctor puts on a form (whether done for invoice padding or "defensive medicine") rather than for the office visit itself (or for the success of a prescribed treatment).
The current system, with its built-in inefficiencies and perverse incentives, is a gawd-awful, indefensible mess. However, there are a lot of vested interests in maintaining the status quo and they will resort to all sorts of skullduggery to do so.
I, for one, apprciate Whell's perspective even though I may disagree with parts of it.
The fundamental question remains:
Why is it that every other advanced society of earth has some variation of single payer, gets better overall results than we do, pays less in the process, and is more satisfied with their system while we limp along with an unsustainable hodge-podge of mostly employer-paid insurance through hundreds of private (and often unsavory) insurance providers and leave tens of millions uninsured in the process? Simply shameful, IMHO.
Today is my day for pointing out irony - Is it not ironic that the party who always wants to advocate simple (maybe even simplistic solutions) oppose the one obvious simple solution - single payer, in favor of the complex, indecipherable mess we currently have? Since nearly everyone else has single-payer, can't we evaluate the lower performing aspects of their plans (that are still better than our for the most part) and improve upon them?
BTW, this argument comes from a guy with excellent employer provided insurance.