The health care status quo is against ‘one-size-fits-all’ health care. Aside from the fact that people have little to no input into the design of the health plans, ‘choice’ has given us an overpriced and overly complex health care system. Could it be that the reason American health literacy is so low is that there are too many types of health plans? Offering one health plan to everyone would not only improve health literacy (or end the need for it), it would save money.

We’re Health Care Stupid…

Despite the efforts of employee benefits managers, consultants, brokers, communications and health care policy experts, Americans have limited health literacy—“the ability to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services to make appropriate health decisions.” Surveys show that Americans know a lot less about health insurance than they think they do. A 2016 survey conducted by Policygenius, revealed that 96% of Americans don't understand the terms deductible, coinsurance, copay, and out-of-pocket maximum. A 2019 United Healthcare study, as reported by Motley Fool, showed that 90% did not know the insurance terms: premium, deductible, coinsurance, and out-of-pocket maximum.

It’s hard to make wise health care decisions if you don’t understand basic, cost-related health insurance terms that are part of most private health plans. We could eliminate premiums, deductibles, coinsurance, and copays under our current for-profit health care system. No one has to learn these terms. But instead of removing these terms from their health plans, employers and insurers have added more complexity. So-called health plan design innovations are the latest buzz in employer-sponsored health plans. Centers of excellence, reference-based pricing, high-performance networks, etc.: these cost-containment strategies replaced by one simple reform—one health care plan for everyone.

One Health Plan Is All We Need

Employers have it all wrong when it comes to health plan design. We don’t need a thousand different types of health plans, or health plan design innovations. A thousand different health plans require a thousand different documents that insurers must store in their systems. That equals more time spent doing system administration, and less time evaluating health care quality. If we had just one health plan: Continue Reading...

Tags: health care , health insurance , health care literacy

If you went to school in the 1980s like me, chances are your teachers taught you to dislike Russia and Africa. Maybe it was the stories of extreme poverty, primitive (by middle class American standards) living conditions, and government oppression that fueled your aversion for these countries. Or, maybe our teachers and politicians relied on stereotypes about these countries to make the U.S. look superior to them. Well, I’ve never been one to go along with the herd—I’ve always wanted to visit Russia and South Africa (Africa is a continent, not a single country).
 
In 2016, I visited Russia, and in 2019 I visited South Africa and a few other African countries. St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia were as cosmopolitan as any American big city, and the rural areas of Russia resembled some rural areas in America. Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa also resembled large American cities. There was nothing strange or exotic about Russia or South Africa. They are poor countries compared to the U.S., but unlike the U.S., they, at least in philosophy and on paper, look to provide health care to all of their citizens as a human right.
 
At Least “They"Support Universal Health Care
 
No vacation of mine to a foreign land would be complete without studying its health care system.
 
Russia and South Africa have major issues with health care access and quality. In the early 20th century, Russia provided free health care to all of its citizens, but later national reforms entitled “all Russians to free healthcare with Obligatory Medical Insurance (OMI). Employers contribute around 2-3% of employees wages into a social tax, of which a small proportion is put into a healthcare fund.” (So, not free.) In practice, however, many take out their own private medical insurance, known as Voluntary Health Insurance (VHI).”
 
The South African government, this month, “published a bill outlining a national health insurance program it intends to roll out over the next seven years. Private insurers will be able to continue operating until the system is fully implemented, after which they will only be able to offer coverage for services that complement those available from the state.
 
The current South African health care system includes a public and private system of hospitals and doctors. Funding comes from fees charged for services and government contributions.
 
The Russian health care system consistently ranks at the bottom among developed nations. It’s common to hear tales of drunken doctors, unsanitary conditions, and bureaucratic chaos. Russia’s private (market) health care system also struggles with quality issues. 
 
South Africa’s public health care system suffers from a doctor brain drain (doctors train in South Africa, but leave to work in other countries), and sub par public health facilities.
 
If Only Americans Could Understand Health Care Continue Reading...

Tags: American Health Care, health care