Medical Insurance - a scam?
I'm curious, my rate just went up (again!) as it does each consecutive year, yet my usage of medical insurance has been either non-existent or minimal at best. What happens to all this money that I continue to pay in, yet never see nor receive back? I pay in more per month in medical coverage than I do for rent, yet it seems that if I try to use my medical insurance, there is a big hassle. BCBS states that "each of us can make cost-saving choices to help hold the line on health care use and resulting costs," yet even when we don't utilize our medical insurance, we see increases.
This last year, my daughter attended the doctor's office a total of two times. I did not take her to the emergency room when she required six stitches in her eyebrow, instead, she and I calmly sat in the waiting room at the UND Family Practice. The other time was for a regular annual check-up. My husband went in once, and that was to get mandatory blood work done for a re-submit of his prescription, which we pay out of pocket rather than through insurance co-pay, as this actually keeps the medicine costs down. And of course, I went in once for my regular annual. I don't see this as having been excessive health care use, and know for a fact that I came nowhere close to my deductible.
I pay in $7,200 per year and never see a use of that money, yet the president and chief executive officer of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota made $419,306 in total compensation in 2003, considerably higher than the $21,382 I made this last year. Perhaps this is where most of my money is going rather than reducing costs of insurance. Of course, this is a perfect racket because we can't get medical assistance without insurance, so I guess I'll continue to see more and more of my hard-earned wages disappear into a blackhole called BCBSND.
Isn't there some other method of medical insurance or assistance that doesn't require taking 1/3 of my yearly salary? I understand that I pay considerably less than a fair number of people, and I understand that my rates, while receiving their normal annual raise, will also increase as I age, but isn't there any help in sight for reform of this industry?
This last year, my daughter attended the doctor's office a total of two times. I did not take her to the emergency room when she required six stitches in her eyebrow, instead, she and I calmly sat in the waiting room at the UND Family Practice. The other time was for a regular annual check-up. My husband went in once, and that was to get mandatory blood work done for a re-submit of his prescription, which we pay out of pocket rather than through insurance co-pay, as this actually keeps the medicine costs down. And of course, I went in once for my regular annual. I don't see this as having been excessive health care use, and know for a fact that I came nowhere close to my deductible.
I pay in $7,200 per year and never see a use of that money, yet the president and chief executive officer of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota made $419,306 in total compensation in 2003, considerably higher than the $21,382 I made this last year. Perhaps this is where most of my money is going rather than reducing costs of insurance. Of course, this is a perfect racket because we can't get medical assistance without insurance, so I guess I'll continue to see more and more of my hard-earned wages disappear into a blackhole called BCBSND.
Isn't there some other method of medical insurance or assistance that doesn't require taking 1/3 of my yearly salary? I understand that I pay considerably less than a fair number of people, and I understand that my rates, while receiving their normal annual raise, will also increase as I age, but isn't there any help in sight for reform of this industry?
posted by Jeni.Ann | 9:46 AM
3 Comments:
Well, there's always nationalizing health care.
The key to lowering health care costs is to make individuals more responsible for the costs of health care.
Tell me, when you decide you need to go to the doctor do you consider what each doctor or clinic charges for their services or do you just go to whichever one is cheapest? Or which ever one has been recommended to you?
I think it's probably the latter, because that's how everyone is. No one shops for health care because no one really bears the full brunt of paying for it. Not directly, anyway.
Oh you feel it when your premiums go up, but by that time you're ready to blame greedy insurance companies rather than the fact that your hospital can pretty much get away with charging you whatever it wants because you don't care. You aren't being presented with the bill.
Nationalizing health care would on exacerbate this problem. The key is more individualism.
Nice blog, by the way. I'm adding you to my feed reader and to my ND Blogs box on my blog.
If you are looking to talk more about UND issues, you might want to check out Dakota Roar (www.dakotaroar.com), an online forum for the UND community.
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