Comments on: Health Care Red Tape

By: Brian Bagent

Brian Bagent — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:47:11 +0000

Jan, I have no problem with a private entity deciding to change the way it does business. If it works and provides better service at a lower price, they’ll soon find themselves with more business and more money for doing things better. That is the way free markets work.

I have a huge problem with the government mandating any changes, no matter how well-intentioned. There is always, without any exceptions whatever, a law of unintended consequences that comes with this sort of legislation. Once in a great while, that unintended consequence is benign. Unfortunately, the rule is that it brings about worse conditions than those that were intended to be solved in the first place. Those problems generally beget more government “solutions” until all we are left with is a giant mess that our governors believe needs taking over.

Look at any nationalized industry in any country that has done so. British Steel is a pretty good example. It was, 70 years ago, the pride of the world. I used Wilkinson Sword safety razors until they ran out of that pre-nationalized steel. They weren’t worth a Continental after that.

Look no further today than PDVSA (the national oil company of Venezuela) or PEMEX (the national oil company of Mexico). Amongst oil people, they (especially PDVSA) are a laughing-stock. I’ve done work for both PDVSA and for their subsidiary CITGO through a software company I used to work for.

By: Jan

Jan — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:08:12 +0000

There’s a good article in the current Time magazine, “A Healthier Way to Pay Doctors,” that describes some sensible changes some local hospital/health care systems have made. The government didn’t make them do it one way or another. They just decided to do things in a more sensible way and bring down costs while providing better services. As for dentists, I may go back to just ignoring them, like my father did–until almost all of his teeth had to be pulled out.

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:23:35 +0000

Since I’m about the same age as Jan (one of us is a few weeks younger, but I won’t say which), I also remember when people didn’t expect to have health insurance. We went to the doctor or hospital, and we paid the bill. Some people had insurance for catastrophic stuff, but certainly not everyone. Those may or may not have been the good old days, but it’s too late to go back.

I think almost the whole country would agree that costs are too high and that everyone should have access (and not through the ER). A simple health care bill that addressed just those issues and not a liberal wishlist of social changes, plus a gazillion earmarks for favored contributors, would probably pass easily.

By: Brian Bagent

Brian Bagent — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 04:43:48 +0000

Jan, if not for government interferance in the market, it is very unlikely that you’d need any sort of health insurance save for the catastrophic. It is government meddling that has caused, and continues to cause, the falsely elevated market that currently exists.

By: Jan

Jan — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:38:25 +0000

Well, folks, the fact is I’ll soon be in the fix that many Americans are in. If not for COBRA, a federal law, my dental plan would have ended as soon as I retired. If not for Medicare, a federal program, I’d have no health coverage as well. When I was growing up in the long ago, private insurance companies didn’t exist. From a number of experiences I’ve had with these companies, they are not consumer-friendly. No doubt they’ll soon be looking for bail out money, too.

By: Brianna

Brianna — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:34:29 +0000

I would also note that industry has a vested interest in becoming better at their jobs and reducing the amount of red tape, because they need to make a profit to stay in business (provided of course, the government doesn’t hand them bailout money) and there is always the threat that someone else can do their job better than they can and put them out of business. Government doesn’t need to worry about competition or making a profit, because they can always fall back on the US taxpayer to cover the cost of their bureaucratic red tape and general incompetence.

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:27:51 +0000

I certainly sympathize with the red tape issue. But in my experience, it’s a fact of life when dealing with any large bureaucracy, whether commercial or government. I just wrote about my struggle with United Airlines, trying to get through their voice recognition, button pushing, endless menus to talk to a human being. But I’ve had the same experience with numerous government agencies, too.

Given that we’ll probably never escape red tape, I guess I’d rather deal with businesses than with the government where my personal affairs are concerned. At least where businesses are involved, I can always go elsewhere. Well, maybe always. Some of the time, anyway.

By: Brian Bagent

Brian Bagent — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:16:25 +0000

Jan, you’re not getting dumped. COBRA expires after 18 months. If you weren’t MediCare eligible, I’d suggest checking out MEGA or Midwest National Life of Tennessee, both of whom are generally less expensive than paying for COBRA and provide outstanding coverage. The last time I looked, the only state where you could not get individual coverage health insurance was New Jersey.

By: Jan

Jan — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:17:23 +0000

Harvey, Maybe I didn’t make the point clearly enough: The HMO I paid into for years is dumping me. I’ve actually had a much better experience with Medicare, but that’s another story.

By: Harvey

Harvey — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 05:44:27 +0000

That’s a real horror story Jan but this wasn’t the Insurance company’s fault. Actually your problem was generated by the company you worked for when they messed up your DOB. If they had gotten it right, the only problem you would have had was getting through those damn automated telephone systems.

You’re dead right about bureaucracies though. Every big company has a big bureaucracy — the bigger the company the bigger the bureaucracy. Insurance companies do have problems caused by their size and do cause problems for their customers but their problems are small potatoes (as you probably know) compared to navigating the Federal bureaucracy.