“The doctors said he’s comin’, but you’ gotta pay in cash”

-The Eagles

We’ve enjoyed a bit of a free ride for the past several decades when it comes to healthcare. Employers and the government have picked up much of the tab. But now we are starting to pay the price literally. Increasingly we are asked to pay for medical services. Locally, The Tennessean just featured a piece on a doc who is going to charge his patients $1,500 annually to maintain access to him. We had best get used to it.

I have nightmares of other businesses becoming like our current healthcare system. In these night terrors, I go to buy groceries, pay a $20 co-pay and then get the bill 30-45 days later, can’t understand what it is I got, have already consumed the product and am expected to pay far more than I would ever have dreamed it might …

Tomorrow marks the one year anniversary of the Mass State Health Plan deadline requiring most individuals to carry health insurance. Though the insurance law has been praised by some and criticized by others, Drew Altman president of the Kaiser Family Foundation believes the law falls somewhere in the middle.

So what’s the main problem, and everyone’s number one concern? COST… go figure.

The USA TODAY article Mass. Pioneering Health Plan turns 1 highlights some of the plans successes and failures. The success story highlights a woman who had lost coverage when she lost her job and was able to get coverage discounted through the state. Lucky - she was even able to get coverage after being diagnosed with cancer. She is now in remission!

Failures? Well the article doesn’t do a very good job of examining this side. They touch on a woman who is …

So the Mass. attempt at “socialized” healthcare turned one year old today. CONGRATS!

Our resident Bostonians on staff @ change:healthcare, George and Vic, must be so proud. Oh wait, they’ve already fled the state to be here.

Nevertheless the plan seems to be working well according to Julie Appleby of USAToday - residents are getting better coverage…and premium rate increases of 5.1 to 9.4% unless you take the person profiled in the article who got a 45.7% increase in premium over the first year’s premium. Wow! Even the private insurance industry is hard pressed to pull that one off!

An excerpt from the article: “I almost fell on the floor,” says Pelletier, 55, of Newbury. “Costs are getting out of control.”

No kidding.

People will eventually make the connection. The decisions you make regarding their healthcare - when to go, whom to see, and what to pay - are what ultimately determines the …

The best thing about this job is that we get to meet some really great people. Today we met some outstanding folks who are going to make a difference.

Cover America made a stop right here in Nashville today and a few of the change:healthcare team had a chance to catch up with them. The cross country trek to capture stories of consumers’ difficulties with the healthcare system is part of a Consumer Reports effort on the healthcare front.

We really enjoyed meeting Meg, Blake, Pauline and Liz. Even got our photo with the RV in Centennial Park, in the shadow of Hospital Corporation of America (oh, how we love the irony of that one). Many thanks to these folks for what they are doing - fighting for the healthcare consumer.

Meg is getting a much deserved break after three weeks …

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I guess I’m a little confused with all of this concern over socialized healthcare. Seems like we’ve already got it . So what’s the big fuss?

Insurance = Socialism

Insurance is based on the concept of socialism.  Assemble a group and they all contribute to the group for the better of the whole to protect the individual. That’s what insurance is. We all pay in. Some really need it and use it and benefit from the group spread of the risk. Others don’t need it as much and they help cover the others who do with an eye toward having their future needs covered. Insurance is based on the most core principles of socialism.

Medicare = Socialism

Medicare is socialized healthcare. The government groups all people over 65 into a single pool. Everyone paid in with taxes and the government covers the majority of costs. So Medicare is already socialized. Ask anyone using …

No matter your candidate or your party, let them know you’re passionate about reforming healthcare!

The new change:healthcare bumper stickers are in!

Shoot me an e-mail at rhendrick [@ symbol] changehealthcare [dot] com with you mailing address, and we will get one to you in time for the remainder of the primaries (unless of course, they move them up some more - there is talk here of moving ours to last week).

In going through my multiplying number of unread feeds I ran across an interesting piece from last week (sorry to those of you who have already done your reading). Politico published Young and Uninsured Turn to Facebook highlighting the large number of young adults interested in health care reform policies of the “08 election.

I wish I could describe my excitement over learning about the interest among youngsters in health care reform (I am an advocate and incredibly interested in making a difference - hence I work for a company called change:healthcare).

My excitement over this issue soon turned to distress when I read the New York Times article about Hospice and this mornings subsequent letters to the editor. On a sad note, about a year ago my grandfather (a wonderful man - Quentin Welty) spent the end of his life, with minimized pain and maximized dignity, …

How unclear can things possibly get?? Every direction I turn there is a different discussion, different concern, a new point of interest, new topics, new programs, new ideas, new technology, different ways to use your personal health record, different insurance plans, different reimbursement rates… you get the picture. Trying to understand healthcare is exhausting.

So here is my attempt to clear (only a small portion) of this murky mess called “healthcare” and bring a couple things I feel are important to the forefront.

Bottom line: For the 6th year in a row the number of uninsured individuals has increased. We have yet to find a way to decrease this number… not at all… not one bit. Personally, I’m not looking for a solution that wipes this 40 some million uninsured off the map. I’m more interested in making 2007 (or 2008 if need be) the first year that this number …

Chris Fleming of Health Affairs Blog has highlighted the debate surrounding State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) reauthorization, discontinuities, and enrollment in his blog. Undeniably this is such an important topic. I wrote a research paper this spring on uninsured children and the variations across SCHIP. Unfortunately the discussion is warranted (referencing the first article and second article he pointed out in Health Affairs). There are gaps in coverage, low enrollment, and eligibility changes and interruptions.

Though the function of my research paper was not to express my opinion, rather to report information, I certainly developed one by the end of it.

Reading all of these different individuals’ research on the SCHIP debate frustrates me.

• First, they cannot seem provide me with any new information in addition to what I discovered last spring.

• Second, how is everyone missing the point? Really. I want to read an article by an individual …
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