Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield got permission to raise their premiums by up to 47 percent from the state of Connecticut. Health care reform was given as the reason, which naturally makes this a political issue for aspiring senator Richard Blumenthal.
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal sent a letter to Insurance Commissioner Thomas Sullivan on Oct. 6, asking what he called "excessive" increases were approved without full consideration of all the facts. His letter mentioned rate increases for both Anthem and Aetna.
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In a letter to Blumenthal, Sullivan said the rates granted were reduced from the company's original request of 39 percent to 58 percent increases.
"I find myself in an unprecedented place and time, as do my counterparts throughout the country, in overseeing one of the most far-reaching policy initiatives enacted by the federal government in recent history," Sullivan said in the letter. "It is unfortunate that this reform, while addressing insurer behavior, has provided little to no reform of the escalating costs of the health care delivery system." (My emphasis.)
In Washington they'll be shocked, simply shocked, when health care shortages begin to be glaringly obvious.
According to The Dartmouth Institute For Health Policy & Clinical Practice, “nine out of ten deaths are associated with just nine chronic illnesses,” and “32% of total Medicare spending is in their last two years of life.” The study goes further to explain that the care provided, was not in line with the wishes of the patients, “do not have improved survival nor better quality of life,” and vary by region.
http://www.dartmouthatlas.org/data/topic/topic.aspx?cat=18
“More than 80% of patients say that they wish to avoid hospitalization and intensive care during the terminal phase of illness, but those wishes are often overridden by other factors. If more intense intervention does not improve life expectancy, and if most patients prefer less care when more intensive care is likely to be futile, the fundamental question is whether the quality of care in regions with fewer resources and more conservative practice styles is better than in regions where more aggressive treatment is the norm”
If this information is true and “Bending The Curve” is our goal, why don’t we deal directly with this issue? Frankly, I believe providers often take advantage of those at the end of life for monetary reasons, which is disgusting. We need a plan that respects the wishes of terminal patients, with dignity, without expensive and invasive practices on a nationwide basis.
You don’t have to be a PHD to see the underlying reason for runaway healthcare spending. As long as we have a third party payer system, where the patient has little or no “skin in the game,” we are going to continue with this struggle. When patients take ownership of their healthcare expenses, we will see true “Bending The Curve.” HSA’s and HRA’s were a good step in the direction of patient ownership, but didn’t go far enough. There is a new business model where employers contribute healthcare funds to employee-owned accounts. Employees can use their accumulated account funds to purchase an insurance policy of their choice, and pay for other qualified medical expenses with Visa “smart” cards, all with pretax dollars. If this business model spreads, we could see a real Bending of the Curve. Here’s a article regarding this model.
http://www.washingtonstatewire.com/home/3714-how_about_a_401_k_program_for_health_insurance.htm
Posted by: Leon from Redding CA | October 23, 2010 at 08:38 PM
When patients take ownership of their healthcare expenses, we will see true “Bending The Curve.” HSA’s and HRA’s were a good step in the direction of patient ownership, but didn’t go far enough.
Exactly. Thanks for providing those links.
Posted by: Tom Bowler | October 25, 2010 at 11:03 AM