Saturday, July 18, 2009

"Choice" in health care

I just had an inline chat with a friend of mine about health care.

What's funny about it is that she called me biased biased because I'm uninsured. Yet, she isn't biased, being an insurance sales person, but I digress.

One of the topics in health care reform that was addressed is the concept of choice. I let Craig Axford do my talking for me on this one:



I have been fortunate to occasionally enjoy some great health insurance over the years. That said, I never got to choose the plan and I never got to choose the doctors covered by the plan. Either my employer or my wife's employer picked the insurance company and picked the plan from that company's menu of options. They never consulted either my wife or I before doing so.

My wife is diabetic, so finding a good doctor is especially important to her. She does her homework when it comes to the doctors available under whatever plan we have to deal with. Unfortunately, like many businesses my wife's employer not only changes plans every year or two but frequently insurance companies as well. After finding a doctor she likes she frequently must switch doctors in January as the new policy her employer has chosen kicks in. Where is the choice Senator McConnell is praising in this scenario?

If we should ever be forced to shop for insurance in the individual market, my wife would have no choice whatsoever. As someone with juvenile diabetes no insurance company would give her a second look. If she ever suffered a serious illness related to her diabetes you, kind reader, would be forced to pick up the tab for her treatment through your taxes, higher premiums, or most likely both because we almost certainly could not afford to pay the medical bills out of pocket.


And, if you want some more great commentary on the "evils" of government-run health care, watch Bernie Sanders talk about current government-run health plans.

-Bob

No comments: