Health Care Today: Somebody Else Should Pay For It! |
 |
 |
 |
| Media Link - Times-Journal (Fort Payne, Alabama) | ||||
| Friday, 01 June 2001 00:00 | ||||
A class action suit against HMOs? This latest development represents part of the problem -- not part of the solution. HMOs came into existence only because government policies discourage people from buying their own health insurance. Thanks to unfair government tax laws, employers can deduct 100 percent of health insurance costs from their taxes; but ordinary individuals cannot. The result? The "somebody-else-should-pay-for-it" mentality so prevalent in medicine today. Patients don't shop for their own health insurance the way they shop for auto insurance. Nor do they shop for doctors the way they comparison shop for cell phones, televisions, and automobiles. Doctors, at the same time, don't answer to patients in the private marketplace. Instead, they simply shift costs to the insurance companies and Medicare -- who in recent years have fought back by limiting payments to doctors, and through managing care. It's no wonder health care is so expensive. Everybody wants it. But nobody wants to pay for it. In reality, unpopular HMOs have merely done the "dirty work" doctors and patients refuse to do: that is, compete and shop in the marketplace. Politicians take pride in programs such as Medicare and, more recently, the Kennedy-Kassebaum law, designed to remove the supposed "stench" of business from medicine. Yet look what we're getting in its place. Go ahead. Sue the HMOs for doing what they do. It's only going to drive medical costs up further. When will Americans learn that personal freedom and responsibility -- in the medical marketplace, just like any other marketplace -- is the only moral, rational solution to the growing health care crisis? (Date of publication unknown).
|
||||
Special Feature
Featured
Shopping
Books & Booklets Audio Commentaries, Interviews & Advice Articles & Essays Coaching/Therapy Newsletter Newsletter Back Issues MerchandiseOther
Shopper and Email login
Shopping Cart
Your Cart is currently empty.
Wait for the payment page to appear after your order is confirmed. If you haven't entered your payment information, your order will not be completed. When ordering instant downloads, your shipping and credit card billing addresses must match. Problems? Call 302-539-5986 or contact Dr. Hurd.
DR. HURD'S NEW BOOK!
Click here to purchase your autographed copy!(Choose domestic or International delivery. Price includes shipping.)
Kindle Edition
Click below to purchase in KINDLE E-book format from Amazon
Daily Dose Mug
Get your official Daily Dose Coffee Mug! Click "merchandise" in the shopping menu to the left. Psychotherapy
Want to address an issue head on in a peaceful, oceanside location? Come to the beaches of Delaware for our special Reflection...by the Sea package.Stop and Think...
" Always do right. It will please some people and astonish the rest. "Mark Twain