Our young Americans make up as much as 25% of the uninsured in this nation. With Health care reform that addresses the reality that our young people cannot afford to pay high costs for health insurance and end up with mostly catastrophic high deductible policies if they have any insurance at all, why is it that Doctors haven't stepped up? Doctors know statistics on health, they spit them out at us on a regular basis. Young people are not the population over using our expensive medical system. But insurers are waiting out their pal Obama and his idea for mandatory health insurance or you get fined approach that apparently is what he was referring to when he sold us "hope." Doctors aren't happy with many of the proposed changes, especially those that will demand that their records become more accessible. They couch their argument in caring about our privacy, but that cannot be true since those of us with insurance know that we sign away our rights to such privacy in order to have our claims processed by insurers. So Doctors, instead of whining, why not do something to address concerns about the health of the young, and of the children.
Doctors could offer annual checkups which is the majority of the care required by young adults in conjunction with a certain number of doctor visits per year for an amount that could competitively make them money and take the insurers out as the middle men. So why don't they? The answer is that doctors love insurance, it is their best way of getting paid. Doctors are not anti-insurance companies, they are only anti-anybody who presumes to think that they should be answerable to anyone.
Well, here's the challenge doctors, create plans for payment that bypass insurers for young people. Hey, you can even omit obstetrics since that area is such a money mess that it requires legislation. Not only will this be a workable option for our young adults, but it will allow you to protect their privacy, and your own.
It's time to stop relying on the honor of people earning their livings by exploiting the weaknesses in our current health services industry. I don't really believe that any physician will do the above any more than I really believe that Obama will recall that he was ELECTED based on his promise of universal health care coverage.
The most important thing to remember is that insurance opportunities for insurance companies arose because people needed a means of helping to pay for needed medical services. Maybe it's time to dust off those original goals and start working towards them again. Affordable health care means a way of paying for needed services whether it is REDUCED costs as suggested above for young adults or through affordable plans that cover the risk of needing more expensive medical care.
What a disgrace.
