Was Anything Accomplished at the Health Reform Summit?

After watching the 7 hour long health care reform summit yesterday, I was left wondering if it accomplished anything.  To put it simply; No.  While it finally gave republicans a chance to tell their ideas to the public, there wasn't much else it accomplished.  It was more of the same back and forth rhetoric, only a little more civil. 

Democrats stated over and over examples of families falling through the cracks of our current system.  Republicans called for the democrats regulations to be scaled back and apply free market principles.  Democrats said their ideas were best, republicans said their ideas were.  Democrats called republiucans the party of "no," republicans said we want health care reform just not this reform.

If you were looking for a bright spot here, it would be that both parties may have realized they have more reforms in common than not.  However, I do not believe this will matter because what they do not agree on are big philosophical differences.  Such as, mandating individuals have insurance. 

It became very evident during the summit that many of these politicians had no idea what they were talking about.  For instance, Rep. Clyburn (D-SC) stated that emergency rooms were being misused (this is 100% correct), he said that a third of all ER visits are actually not emergency visits (again, correct).  However, he stated the reason for this is because people have high deductible plans that have too much out of pocket and they cannot afford to go to their doctor's office, so instead they go to the emergency room.  He apparently doesn't understand that an emergency room visit is extremely more expensive than a doctor's office visit.  So his logic does not make sense.  It is very sad to think that people who do not know these basic health care facts are put in charge in trying to re-invent the system.

Another point that was frustrating is that when the idea of Health Savings Accounts came up they were quickly brushed aside and branded as "accounts for the rich."  While statistics show, that 50% of people that have HSA's make less than $50,000 a year.

It basically comes down to this, you can pay the insurance company upfront for a low deductible first dollar coverage plan or you can pay for health care as you use it with the savings account coupled with a high deductible plan.  Usually the savings difference from going to a first dollar coverage plan to an HSA plan is more than the deductible itself, so there is guaranteed savings.

Neither side of the aisle truly knows enough about health care or health insurance to try a complete overhaul of our current system.

After the summit yesterday, I do not believe anything has changed.  The only way these bills move forward now is if the democrats try and pass it through a reconciliation process. Stay tuned to find out how this will all play out.

Is it even possible to hit reset button on Health Reform?

Most would agree that so far health care reform talks have been rather partisan.  The democrats tried to get their own party to come along because they did not need a single republican vote to pass it.  Of course when Senator Brown from Massachusetts was elected this all changed.

Now the media, politicians and the public are calling for bipartisan talks.  The President is going to hold a "health care summit" next Thursday the 25th.  He has invited both democrats and republicans to the table to bring forth their ideas. Of course, the hope on the left is that they will be able to get one republican senator to come along and the fear on the right is that this will not be an open discussion but rather a lecture to republicans to come on board.  Either way it does not matter.  Most agree that nothing will come out of these talks. Some are calling for Congress to start the entire process over.

I believe that truly starting over cannot be accomplished.  Both parties already know what they want and what they do not want.  At this point, everything has already been on the table, everyone knows each others stance.  Starting over would simply lead back to where we are now.

So what happens next? 
3 Options: 1) Passes with a republican on board; 2) Passes through some sort of reconciliation tactic -needing only 51 votes in Senate, House would still need the 218 votes or 3) The bills die

Myths about Consumer-Driven Health Care

Previously in this blog, we have talked about Consumer-Driven Health Care (a personal care account coupled with a high deductible health plan), and the benefits of becoming actively engaged in the purchases of health care.

Of course, like anything else, there are critics of Consumer-Driven Health Care (CHDC).  There are also many myths about CDHC that try and lead employers away from the idea of it.

• Myth #1: "High deductible plans hurt my employees financially with higher Out-of-Pocket"
• This would be true if CDHC was simply handing an employee a higher deductible with nothing else. That is not what CDHC is.  What it really is is a high deductible plan coupled with a personal care account, either a Health Savings Account  (HSA) or a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA).  The employer uses a portion of the tremendous savings between a traditional plan and a high deductible plan to fund these accounts. The employee can use the funds provided from the employer to pay for health care before the deductible. In many cases, the employee will not spend a single dollar out of their own pockets with CDHC plans. 
• Myth #2:  "Employees will not get the Preventive care they need"
• Many say, because these type of plans have a lot of out of pocket before the insurance kicks in that many will forgo preventive care to save money.  However, with many of these high deductible health plans, Preventive care is now paid 100% by the insurance.  This benefit includes things such as annual physicals, mammograms, colonoscopies and prostate screening. Here in VT, and in NH all of the high deductible health plans have this benefit.  Many of the carriers from across the country have adopted this as well. They understand how important preventive care is, both on a cost and personal health level, and they want everyone to utilize it.
• Myth #3:   "It's too complicated for users."
•  It's true CDHC can be complicated, but not if the education is there. Education is absolutely essential to making your health plan work.
• Myth #3.1 : "I don't have the time or knowledge to educate my employees fully"
• Let your broker educate your employees.  At BGNE, we have a team that is dedicated to educate users of the plans.  We meet with your employees to teach them precisely how to use their benefits and what exactly their benefits are. Education is an absolute must. 

A Real Life Case for Consumer Driven Health Care

What if everyone cared what the true costs of health care were.  If there were actual consumers of health care like they are for every other purchase in their lives?

Those who have "Consumer Driven Health Plans" are engaged in their health care purchases.  These plans consists of a high deductible health plan ($2,500 for example) coupled with a personal care account such as a Health Savings Account (HSA) or a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA).  The consumer will use either their HRA or HSA to pay for medical bills before they meet their $2,500 deductible.

Here is an actual real life example of someone on a  "Consumer-Driven Health Plan":

-A woman is on vacation and has an extremely bad sore throat.  She goes to a local urgent care facility to get it checked out.  The doctor takes a quick look at her and writes a script for amoxicillin.  She met with the doctor for less than 5 minutes.  She receives her bill in the mail and the urgent care facility charged her for a "High-Level" office visit at $250.  Amazed at the high price of the 5 minute visit she quickly calls the urgent care facility.  She asks how her 5-minute meet with the doctor for a sore throat was classified under "High-Level?"  The urgent care facility responded, "Oh, I guess that should have been billed at the 'low level' rate for $75, but what do you care? Your insurance is paying it."

Amazing.

Now, if this person had been on a typical co-pay plan or another first dollar coverage plan, they simply would not care about the overcharge (even though they still should, because it will be reflected in premiums).  Why would they care? No matter what the doctors office billed the insurance company you pay the same co-pay.  Consumerism always creates less waste and more savings.

The Presidents Mission

"I Don't Quit."  There is no doubt that when the President uttered these words at his first State of the Union address, that health care reform was included in this statement. He stated several times his intent to finish what he started with health care reform.

Although, he did not say whether he was willing to part ways with certain aspects of the bill.  He was vague on purpose.  He will again scope out the political landscape, try and find out if he can get the required votes for the reform he wants. If not, he will and must start over. 

If health care reform starts over, true bipartisanship will happen and something will be passed.  While it is not exactly clear what bipartisanship would produce in a bill, you can guarantee there will be no public option.  Either way, President Obama is going to continue with his health care reform agenda and is resting a lot of his political capital on it.