The recent murder of Minnesota-based UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson once again exposed the deep faults in our health care system. Nearly a quarter of working adults are uninsured or underinsured, the latter meaning they have insurance but it does not offer adequate financial protection. The average annual deductible for individuals is roughly $1,800; for families, annual deductibles can be much higher, often starting at $5,000.
While regular families are squeezed more and more, the CEOs of the largest health insurance companies make in the tens of millions of dollars, which only fuels perceptions of unfairness.
More than ever, we need reform. We are in a system where the same procedure done at the same place may cost different amounts based on which insurer is paying. The reverse is also true: The same insurance company will pay different amounts for the same procedure at different facilities. In no other market would this make any sense. Potential reforms could include requiring every insurer to pay the same amount for the same procedure, regardless of provider; ensuring that all insurance companies be not-for-profit; disentangling employment and insurance; and requiring all insurance companies to pay for provider-recommended, evidence-based treatments.
All of these changes can be made within the context of a private insurance-based system; many could be made at the state level.
If the shooting of Thompson and the debate that followed raised your frustration with health insurance, channel that frustration into advocacy to our lawmakers, insurance companies, and employers. Urge them to change the system.
Kim Nichols Dauner
Duluth
The writer is a professor of health care management in the Labovitz School of Business and Economics at the University of Minnesota Duluth.
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