National Healthcare Crisis??
I am sitting in a hotel room (actually it is a country club guest room, but that is another story) just outside of Akron, OH, having spent the day with Christian Healthcare Ministries. You may have seen them last night on CNN . The week before I was at Samaritan Ministries and was equally blessed by the wonderful work that they are doing. Watching both of these ministries, I find myself asking again, "What is this health care crisis?"
Some of you may have heard that the Chinese character for "Crisis" is made up of two characters that mean "danger" and "opportunity." The current American healthcare system is far from perfect. Having worked for many years as a family doctor within the British socialized healthcare system (the NHS), I have had a chance to see socialism at work, and it leaves much to be desired and it does lead to the type of rationing that you may have read about in the press. So what is the danger right now, and what is the opportunity?
To me the main danger of the current frenzy of activity around healthcare reform is that people who have only been seriously thinking about this for a few months (namely our elected representatives in Washington) seem to think that they can overnight change 17% of the whole of the US economy. They have had the past 50 years to work on Medicaid and Medicare, and still openly admit that they don't know how to deal with the existing fraud in the system. What are they going to do when they try to handle the whole healthcare system? It's lunacy to allow the very people who helped to create the current challenges now try to sort out the mess by having even more power and control. I don't have a lot of confidence in that working!
But that may also be where the opportunity lies. There is much that this country can do to improve it's existing healthcare system. The problem, generally speaking is not access. The truth is that anyone can access an emergency room in this country any time they want to turn up. In Austin, where we live, a local free clinic program had to be closed down because of lack of patients. But very often people don't know what is available to them.
Two major areas provide great opportunity for containing medical costs. Christian initiatives such as Christian Healthcare Ministries and Samaritan Ministries show the power of simple cooperative movements, and I count it a privilege that my company, The Karis Group actually does much of the discounting work for these ministries. They are a delight to work with.
But much more innovation is possible. Rather than restricting the private sector, this should be the time to set the private sector free to explore and innovate. Bring the doctor and the patient back together without either government or the insurance companies getting in the way. Plan to cover basic costs out of our own pockets, which is what we do with everything else in life, and only insure for the truly expensive (catastrophic) things that we cannot plan for. In this way natural market forces and personal responsibility will quickly bring most health care costs under much better control. After all, about 70% of all healthcare costs are lifestyle related. When people see the cost of the choices that they make every day they will learn how to make healthier choices or they will face the much higher premiums that their unhealthy lifestyles produce. If you have five car accidents in the past five years you are going to pay a higher premium for your car insurance, and that is entirely appropriate. Why would we not apply the same logic to health insurance?
As Christians we have important things to say in this current healthcare debate. Did you know that the word "Salvation" (Gk=Sozo) means much more than a ticket to heaven, but it means what is described in I Thessalonians 5 as "and now may your spirit and soul and body be presented perfect." God wants people made whole, and following his word does lead to healthy lifestyle choices, and as evidenced by the examples of the two ministries that I have mentioned above. It can also lead to drastically reduced health care costs. Check them out!
Some of you may have heard that the Chinese character for "Crisis" is made up of two characters that mean "danger" and "opportunity." The current American healthcare system is far from perfect. Having worked for many years as a family doctor within the British socialized healthcare system (the NHS), I have had a chance to see socialism at work, and it leaves much to be desired and it does lead to the type of rationing that you may have read about in the press. So what is the danger right now, and what is the opportunity?
To me the main danger of the current frenzy of activity around healthcare reform is that people who have only been seriously thinking about this for a few months (namely our elected representatives in Washington) seem to think that they can overnight change 17% of the whole of the US economy. They have had the past 50 years to work on Medicaid and Medicare, and still openly admit that they don't know how to deal with the existing fraud in the system. What are they going to do when they try to handle the whole healthcare system? It's lunacy to allow the very people who helped to create the current challenges now try to sort out the mess by having even more power and control. I don't have a lot of confidence in that working!
But that may also be where the opportunity lies. There is much that this country can do to improve it's existing healthcare system. The problem, generally speaking is not access. The truth is that anyone can access an emergency room in this country any time they want to turn up. In Austin, where we live, a local free clinic program had to be closed down because of lack of patients. But very often people don't know what is available to them.
Two major areas provide great opportunity for containing medical costs. Christian initiatives such as Christian Healthcare Ministries and Samaritan Ministries show the power of simple cooperative movements, and I count it a privilege that my company, The Karis Group actually does much of the discounting work for these ministries. They are a delight to work with.
But much more innovation is possible. Rather than restricting the private sector, this should be the time to set the private sector free to explore and innovate. Bring the doctor and the patient back together without either government or the insurance companies getting in the way. Plan to cover basic costs out of our own pockets, which is what we do with everything else in life, and only insure for the truly expensive (catastrophic) things that we cannot plan for. In this way natural market forces and personal responsibility will quickly bring most health care costs under much better control. After all, about 70% of all healthcare costs are lifestyle related. When people see the cost of the choices that they make every day they will learn how to make healthier choices or they will face the much higher premiums that their unhealthy lifestyles produce. If you have five car accidents in the past five years you are going to pay a higher premium for your car insurance, and that is entirely appropriate. Why would we not apply the same logic to health insurance?
As Christians we have important things to say in this current healthcare debate. Did you know that the word "Salvation" (Gk=Sozo) means much more than a ticket to heaven, but it means what is described in I Thessalonians 5 as "and now may your spirit and soul and body be presented perfect." God wants people made whole, and following his word does lead to healthy lifestyle choices, and as evidenced by the examples of the two ministries that I have mentioned above. It can also lead to drastically reduced health care costs. Check them out!
Tags: healthcare, healthy, living
Comment
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Comment by Anthony Kasper on August 23, 2009 at 3:58pm
- I once met a missionary from somewhere in South America. He was very polite yet concerned. He told me that we in America ask for Gods blessing a lot of times it's for convience such as a new car, updated home, camper etc, and I am not saying these things are bad. But he said where he lived when people say they trust God it sometimes is for the daily meal. I wonder if this health issue among other things may get so bad that it might actually cause us to trust in God more. I have been really trying to get God's point of view.
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Comment by Mitzi Cox North on August 20, 2009 at 3:42pm -
Tony,
I was recently at a luncheon where Kay Granger spoke on the health care proposition..(she is not for it, the way it is proposed.) I think your comments make good sense. It's the only thing that I've heard that makes sense. I think when people are held more responsible for the small things like office visits, medicines, etc., they are more sensitive to the cost and frequency of these visits. And as far as believers, I think some may discover God as their first choice primary physician rather than the last option and when all else fails. Eliminating a blank check for the small things and using insurance assistance when the castastrophic happens is a very responsible solution. Many people have already adopted a similar program by just having catastrophic insurance and paying for the small things as a wise, financial decision for their families. Thanks again for your ideas and thoughts on the subject. Mitzi
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I am an insurance agent in Indiana. I have been selling HSA's since they came out. The last two years or so they have really taken off. I bet 95% of individual health policies I sell are HSA's. Even if you don't set up an account the plans can pay 100% after the deductible which translates to less money out of your pocket on a bad health year. We are starting to use some minimeds to help the uninsurable. In my own families case some pre-existing conditions have stopped us from getting the coverage we want. We are combining a minimed and a short term policy to make it affordable and more secure. I would be interested to know if the Karis Group would have some things we could use for our insurance agency to help find other avenues for our clients.
I do know this. In many conversations with my clients about health care it has opened doors to share Jesus. With all the negativity and fighting going on, talking about Jesus sure does bring peace.
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Comment by Tony Dale on August 16, 2009 at 2:08pm - Bill, you wanted some more info on HSA plans. I did a little digging on the web, and this link will help answer some of your questions. If one understands some of the discipline and value of HSAs, and will live with that discipline, they are a great way to go. If someone is not sure if they have that discipline, and they are happy to abide by the healthy choices guidelines within the Christian sharing programs, then they are also a wonderful way to go.
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Comment by Tony Dale on August 16, 2009 at 2:01pm
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Kathleen,
What you are looking for is one of the great things about HSAs. Because you pay all of the low cost stuff yourself out of your HSA account, you can get preventative care, eye care, etc. all out of your HSA. To be able to take your insurance with you, the government does need to change to law to make it portable, i.e. carriable from one place (state) to another. People on both sides of the isle have been asking for this for some time. It would also open up competition between the States. Right now you might pay twice as much for coverage in New York as you would in Pennsylvania because NY may have many more "mandates" (things that the State says that you have to cover to do business in that State. By making health care portable across State lines, it would intensify competition and provide much more choice to the consumer.
I hope these thoughts help in understanding the choices that are out there.
Tony
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Comment by Kathleen McDade on August 16, 2009 at 12:00pm -
I'm glad I came by -- looks like I can be misinformed just like anyone else! :-) No, I didn't completely change my mind. But I didn't realize that an HSA works more like a regular savings account than like a flexible spending account. Thanks for clearing that up for me.
I would still like to see a plan that covers everyone, and that doesn't go away if you change jobs, lose your job, start a small business, etc.
Since Congress and the President have been emphasizing CHOICES, what if we had high-deductible insurance/HSA as one of the options? We'd have to make sure it wasn't abused by employers -- I don't think it would work very well, for instance, if employers offered this and then didn't pay employees enough to put any money IN the HSA.
I think it would still be important to provide affordable options for primary/preventative care, too (office visits can cost $200+ unless you go to a subsidized clinic around here).
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Comment by Mark on August 16, 2009 at 7:56am -
Tony and Kathlene,
That has been my family's experience with the HSA. It has been a great solution for us - and our income says we're definitely lower middle class. It takes discipline - putting aside your own money each month. I've found that people just can't believe this is already an option out there - although, I wouldn't recommend it for people who are chronically sick or elderly.
I still hope for relational tithing as we see in the NT and around the world in Jesus Movements where love is the only true currency!
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Comment by Tony Dale on August 15, 2009 at 10:26pm
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Hi Kathlene, you make many really good points in your comments. I am sure you are right when you say some of the representatives in congress have been thinking about these things for many years. It is just a little scary when those who have been thinking about it come up with 1000 pages of fine print that the vast majority of other representatives have not even read and I suspect many don't understand. Yet they are seriously considering putting this country into many more trillions of dollars of debt that we cant afford.
As to the huge costs within health care that are lifestyle related, I typed your question into Google and found lots of supporting evidence. One example is at this link from a Harvard professor of economics talking about the impact of obesity. Another blog, at this link, deals with this issue from more of a layman's point of view. If you are interested to look deeper, look at some of the other material easily available on the web.
Finally, a quick comment on HSA's. The money is a HSA is your own money as soon as it is put in there, whether by you or by your employer. You do not have to wait for any reimbursement. Most people could profit from an HSA from their employer, as the employer by dropping typical major medical plan and switching to a high deductible HSA eleigible plan could afford to pay for the insurance and also to find the HSA for you. Then if you don't use your insurance, which 9 out of 10 people in any given year won't spend even $1000 on health related needs, it means that the money stays in your pocket (or rather in your HSA savings account) rather than in the pocket of the insurance company or of the government! A pretty good deal if you live healthy and so manage to stay healthy most of the time.
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Comment by Connie on August 15, 2009 at 1:43pm -
What's up here?
Here are some really great ideas, along with your quote from Margaret Thatcher.
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Comment by Kathleen McDade on August 15, 2009 at 10:50am
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I seriously doubt our congressional represenatives have beein thinking about this for only a few months. For some it's probably been for their entire careers, in fact.
Christian Healthcare Ministries is good, but I don't think it's for everyone.
Where does this statistic come from? "70% of all healthcare costs are lifestyle related."
Also, if that is true, doesn't it make sense to increase access to primary care so that people CAN have the opportunity to prevent illness?
Finally, the idea of having high-deductible insurance just for the extreme emergencies and paying out of pocket for the rest -- again, that may work for some, but for those who are poor, or even lower middle class -- nope. We just make enough to get by. We don't have money to put into an HSA, even if the government lowers taxes - because lowering income tax rates doesn't benefit the poor. At all. We're already paying as little in taxes as possible. And if I had an HSA? I doubt I'd be able to pay out of pocket and then wait to be reimbursed from my HSA.
So I'm not buying it. And I'm reading what Greg Dressel says just above this comment as I type this, and thinking that I'm glad you "feel bad for the people who no one will insure," because sometimes I feel like many people don't care. "I do not believe our government leaders act as servants of the people they represent by and far. Too bad they don't know our Lord who commanded this behavior out of us and demonstrated it!" Really? Our Lord commanded us to take care of one another and to heal the sick.
I might be the only one here who feels this way...but I needed to say so. Thanks for listening.
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