I’m not just being political here.  I have a personal story to tell related to the new healthcare law and how it impacts the patient.  I will also offer my own opinion as to a solution that will empower people and ultimately reduce health care costs.

In January, I added my wife and daughter to my personal health insurance policy.  In February, I started getting claim forms that indicated that my claim had been denied due to a lack of premium paid.  This naturally concerned me since I have my premium payments set up on an automatic draft from my bank account.  So, I called the claims department of my insurance company and discovered that indeed the claims had been denied for non-payment of premium.  After being transferred to the billing department, I inquired why my premium had not been automatically deducted from my account.  I was informed that “due to the new health care law” the health insurance company could not draft my account for 30 days but that the draft would resume on March 1.  All claims would continue to be denied until March and then “automatically” reconsidered at that time.  I was informed that I could make a payment by phone if I wished to do so.  I elected not to do that since I had already given them access to my bank account.  Then, I started getting letters and even phone calls from the doctors who had submitted the claims.  The whole thing was embarrassing and unnecessary.  It made me look as if I am unable to pay my bills.  It also cost more money, time and paperwork for everyone involved.  Only the government would create a system where a service provider could not receive payment for it’s service from a customer who was willing to make the payment and have that adversely affect the payment of services from a third party.  I have one word to describe this system – STUPID.

So, here’s my solution.  Government and insurance companies should get out of the middle and restore the doctor – patient relationship.  Government should regulate as little as possible because it is impossible to mandate rules to apply adequately for every possible situation.  Insurance companies should be responsive to their customers who are the patients.  Doctors should also be responsive to their customers who are the patients.  This can be accomplished by making the patients 100% responsible for all payments to doctors and health care providers.  Claims should be paid to patients who are then responsible for paying the bill.  When patients are responsible for paying the bill, they will decide what tests and procedures they wish to pay for.  This will bring costs down and make the health care providers more responsive to the needs of the patient.  Insurance companies can also continue to provide special discounts for customers (patients) who choose to use health care providers who offer the best deals for services rendered.  The important thing is that patients will be making the decisions based upon what they need and what they are willing to pay with the assistance of insurance.  This is a single payer system with the patient being the single payer assisted by government or insurance whichever the case may be.

A few years ago I attempted to do this myself.  I spoke to the business manager of my doctor and told him that I did not want him to file any claims with the insurance company and that I would be personally responsible for paying my bill.  I then asked for a discount because I did not want to pay his non-insurance rate that was considerably higher.  He then informed me that I was being unethical.  I completely understand if he did not want to give me a discount but he did not have to accuse me of being unethical.  Finally, I asked him to tell me if the doctor worked for me or the insurance company.  He paused for a moment and then said, “the insurance company.”  Now, with Obamacare, the doctor not only works for the insurance company, but they both work for the government.  Soon it will be that you, the patient, will have no say in your own health care decisions.  Everything will be decided by some bureaucrat in Washington.  REPEAL OBAMACARE NOW!

Alan L. Thomas <><