So last night some sort of health care reform passed Congress and is being sent to the White House to become law. Why am I so ambivalent? I am not dancing in the street in a celebratory mood, nor am I grousing about a government takeover of my health care.
Maybe it’s because I’m actually smart.
Last year my family spent over $25,000 in health care, between insurance, prescriptions, doctor office visit co-pays, and whatnot. That’s more than many people make in a year. I count myself lucky to be able to afford any health care coverage, as there have been may years where I’ve not had any health insurance, and as a result didn’t see a doctor. This, however, is not about those years.
In 2007 our health insurance premiums increased by about 30%, and in 2008 they increased by about 45% again. Did our coverage increase? No. Last year we switched, tired of fighting with our health insurance provider over what they would and would not cover, and their ever changing requirements and policies. Not to mention that it was getting ridiculously expensive.
What we changed to took quite a bit of searching, because the one thing that we needed was to be able to keep our pediatrician. My wife and I did not have a physician that we were attached to (nor one that we had seen with any regularity), but our pediatrician is great, knows us and our kids, and our kids are very comfortable with him.
After quite a bit of searching around as to what was available, what the different plans covered (or not) as well as eliminating all the plans that our pediatrician wasn’t included in, we were left with three choices. One was essentially the same plan as what we already have, but more expensive, one was our current plan which we were frustrated with, and the third a slightly less expensive HMO (health management organization) that covered some stuff in greater detail, some other stuff in less, and was about a 1:1 tradeoff. We made the switch mostly because the health insurance we had was a horrible bureaucracy that wasn’t helpful. At lest with an HMO we’d have a point of focus to direct our complaints.
For the most part, we’re happier with our new health coverage, but still not “happy” as everything we actually need isn’t covered, and we’re paying a lot of money.
Enter this new legislation. Is it going to lower my premium? No. Is my coverage going to increase? Doesn’t look like it. From what I can tell it looks like it will be easier in the future to switch insurance coverage if I desire. Because this piece of legislation may be help some people that don’t have health care coverage find it easier to obtain it, that’s fine with me. Pre-existing conditions can’t bar somebody from getting coverage, which is universally considered a good thing by all accounts. From what I can tell, people are still free to choose their own type of coverage if they can afford to. Then again, I’m wondering how many of the legislators that both voted for and against this bill actually read and understood each of the various provisions (more than 2,300 pages), let alone the people in the general public that are grousing about socialized medicine and government interference. It also doesn’t actually change how the current health insurance system works, so there really isn’t much of a reason to celebrate either.
So, hopefully a number of uninsured will have access to some form of health insurance, but that’s about it. Yes, there’s a requirement for people to have some form of health insurance or pay a fee. Anybody that claims they shouldn’t be required to buy health insurance should think twice before renewing their auto insurance (which is a requirement in most states). It’s too bad that the government isn’t providing an option for those that can’t afford health insurance (and would have to pay the penalty). Yes, I know there are income stipulations to keep poor people from getting poorer, but wasn’t the goal to get everybody health insurance? Seems like both sides are failing in the health care issue.
Socialized medicine? Not yet. Besides, anybody that thinks socialized medicine is evil should refuse Social Security and not put their kids in public education. Me? I’m in the middle. I have my kids in Catholic school and will draw Social Security.
One way or the other, this “sweeping” legislation isn’t actually going to affect most of us. That includes taxes. President Obama declared “This is what change looks like.” No, Mr. President. THIS is what change looks like…
