Role of Insurance Companies in Patient Health
Insurance companies play a critical role in patient health by pooling risk (through collecting premiums from a large number of individuals) to cover specific medical expenses incurred by policyholders. The rising cost of health insurance is a tremendous strain on the resources of middle-to-low-income families.
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Doctors Versus Health Maintainence Organizations (HMOs)
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Doctors aren't happy being managed by a corporation Employers providing health insurance coverage to their employees hire HMOs to negotiate with health care providers for the most competitive prices for their services. HMO doctors are rewarded for keeping costs low and seeing the most number of patients in a limited time period. Doctors who spend more time with their patients, especially those who are very sick, are often penalized.
"Far from being supported or encouraged by the HMOs, these doctors receive letters and lectures exhorting them to be more "efficient," meaning "spend less time with each patient and order fewer tests," wrote Dr. Ron Adler, a professor of medicine at the University of California at San Francisco.
Criticism Against the Current Role of Health Insurance in Patients' Lives
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Rising healthcare costs are troubling Economist Hans-Hermann Hoppe of the Ludwig von Mises Institute writes that government intervention in health care has led to higher premiums in the U.S., forcing an increasing number of people to drop out of the insurance market. Those that opted out of the system were paying extraordinarily high premiums since insurance companies in several states are mandated to cover costs for the treatment of alcoholism, drug addiction, and psychiatric consultations. Insurance companies in Georgia are required to cover heart transplants, while insurers in Illinois must pay for liver transplants. Hoppe argues that not all people who buy insurance are at risk for heart or liver disease; their premiums are over-priced due to government intervention.
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Private Health Insurance Inadequate to Cover High Costs
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Criticism against insurance companies The other side of the story is that insurance premiums don't cover high health care costs. A report from American Cancer Society and the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that even cancer patients with private health insurance are in debt, filing for personal bankruptcy, and putting off treatment because they can't afford it.
Lowering Health Care Costs for Patients
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Libertarian Ron Paul believes that only free market competition will force insurers to reduce their costs so they can stay in business. Regarding treatment for those who cannot afford insurance, he wrote in his book "The Revolution: A Manifesto":
"In the days before Medicare and Medicaid, the poor and elderly were admitted to hospitals at the same rate they are now, and received good care. Before those programs came into existence, every physician understood that he or she had a responsibility towards the less fortunate and free medical care was the norm."
Price Gouging Concerns
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Damien Hoffman estimates in a Huffington Post column that he must pay over $1 million a year on health care when he is 54 years old, given the rate at which his insurance premium was increasing. Hoffman and many others believe that the government must end price gouging in the health insurance industry.
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