Even Business Leaders Are Realizing Health Insurance Companies Serve No Purpose
By Wendell Potter, (2017, September 19) Truthout | Op-Ed
This piece is part of Fighting for Our Lives: The Movement for Medicare for All, a Truthout original series.
Polls show a growing number of Americans are warming up to the idea of single-payer health care. Whether that’s a reaction to the repeal-and-replace bills proposed by congressional Republicans or to the failure of the Affordable Care Act to get us to universal coverage (or even reduce medical costs in a meaningful way) is largely irrelevant. What is relevant is that most of us have lost faith in private health insurers and want the government to do more in health care.
In fact, according to a June 2017 poll by the Pew Research Center, 60 percent of those surveyed said the federal government has the responsibility to provide coverage to all Americans.
Most of us have lost faith in private health insurers and want the government to do more in health care.
We’ve seen similar poll results in years past. As the former head of corporate communications for the global health insurance company Cigna, I saw surveys on a regular basis that consistently showed a sizable percentage of Americans held private health insurance companies in very low regard and would be happy not to have to deal with them. . . .
. . .What is different and significant this time, though, is that US business leaders are among those questioning our multi-payer system and embracing a system with just one payer, the government. That shift could prove to be the game changer that moves single-payer health care from what many pundits and politicians have considered a pipe dream to a very real possibility.
Commentary
At long last the Business Community is waking up to the truth about corporate health insurance. It’s a rip-off!
In fact, we’re all being dramatically overcharged for the simple process of collecting premiums and paying claims. Corporate insurers are charging us about 18% of costs for the very same process that Medicare manages to accomplish for about 2%.
But we can’t forget, corporate health insurers are doing much more than simply collecting premiums and paying claims. Their “services” including negotiating narrow provider networks and reviewing doctor-prescribed treatments for “denial.”
What this means is, they are making it harder and harder for us to get the health care we need by limiting our choice of doctors and hospitals, and second-guessing our doctors’ professional recommendations for treatments and medicines.
Private businesses are responsible for about 20% of the approximately $3.2 trillion spent in 2015 in the US on health care, including corporate insurance premiums, out-of-pocket costs, hospital care, physician and clinical expenses, pharmaceuticals and so forth.
That means the business community forks over around $640 billion, mostly for insurance premiums. Aside from paying premiums, however, there are other costs associated with sponsoring employee benefit plans. The renewal process itself can be costly, involving updates to underwriting information and analyzing renewal quotes for costs and benefits. And then there’s the need to administer the plans throughout the coverage period, which itself requires time and energy.
As recently reported in Fortune, evaluating and purchasing group health insurance forces small businesses “…to spend an inordinate amount of time, energy, and resources trying to navigate an incredibly complex system in order to get the most cost-effective coverage possible for their employees. It is not uncommon for employers to spend weeks every year negotiating with private insurance companies, filling out reams of paperwork, and switching carriers to get the best deal they can.”
More and more businesses are beginning to wonder, what’s their return on this significant investment? Increasingly, they are seeing that the numbers don’t add up.
If you own a business and are sick and tired of health insurance company hassles and shenanigans, it’s time to get into the game!
What YOU Can DO
If you agree that we need California Medicare for All, take action!
> Add your voice to those of other business owners. Join the Business Alliance for a Healthy California!
> Tell your State Assemblymember to co-sponsor SB 562, The Healthy California Act!
> Sign our Open Letter to Governor Brown and Our Legislative Leaders!
Dear Governor Brown, Senate President Pro Tem DeLeón and Assembly Speaker Rendon:
Californians need and want guaranteed healthcare that covers everybody for everything for life!
We support the Healthy California Act introduced by Senator Ricardo Lara and co-sponsored by Senator Toni Atkins.
Help all Californians fight the heartless and cruel threats to our health care from Washington DC.
Let’s HEAL California with SB 562, the Healthy California Act!
Yours Truly,
