I am not a world renowned business man, politician, or financial guru. I am a special education teacher with some common sense. I have seen enough to know that the more middle men you have in ANY market, the higher the rates. Every single one of those middle men is a salary needing to be paid. Do you have any idea how much money health insurance companies make? Aetna, Anthem, Cigna, Humana and UnitedHealth Group (the big five for-profit insurers), had a mind blowing $4.5 BILLION in net earnings in the first quarter of 2017. That is $1.5 BILLION per month! Imagine if that money was not paid to the insurance companies, and was instead saved by people, or paid to doctors.
OK, so I can already anticipate the big comment that people are thinking. “If people didn’t have insurance, they couldn’t get the treatment that they need.” FALSE! Insurance is a big part of why prices are as high as they are. Insurance companies pay a lot less for medical bills than you if you are paying cash. If hospitals simply charged those prices to individuals, MOST people would not need insurance. Yes, there are always exceptions. The problem is that too many rules are made based on the exceptions, and not on the overwhelming majority.
It’s OK, Obamacare is going to fix everything………NOT! Common sense tells you that anytime the government forces you to buy something, THE PRICE WILL GO UP! That is common sense. In fact, it seems like prices go up with everything that the government gets involved in, but that’s a conversation for another day.
So, what am I getting at here? Am I really suggesting that we would be better off without health insurance? Honestly, YES…….for most people. However, it is more complicated than everyone just cancelling insurance, especially since we are forced against our will to purchase it…….you know……because Obama knows what is best for us. I think that the key starts with the doctors and hospitals (once Trump HOPEFULLY is able to get rid of the mandate). By offering affordable services (like the prices hey charge insurance companies), people would be able to afford their medical expenses. Imagine if they simple added 5% to what they charge insurance companies. The doctors and hospitals would get a 5% raise, a multi-BILLION dollar middle man would be cut out, and overall, people would save. That 4.5 BILLION dollars in health insurance profit would be saved by the American people.
Again, I am no expert. Am I missing something though? Why are we paying the middle man BILLIONS, when people are being bankrupt by medical bills? Personally, I pay $394 every 2 weeks for insurance (plus have an $850 deductible). Seeing as how I am a teacher, that is a BIG DEAL! I understand that the fix may be more complicated than I am making it seem. Something needs to be done though, and cutting out a multi-billion dollar middle man seems like a great place to start.
