The World Series, football games, the beginning of hockey season and cool, crisp, sunny days.
Lots to look forward to in the fall.
As I enter my second year in the Medicare world, there’s one more routine that comes with the flip of the calendar.
That’s the open enrollment for additional health insurance to cover costs that Medicare doesn’t cover.
Last December, I joined 60 million Americans in the national health plan for people 65 and older. From now until Dec. 7, Medicare subscribers have the opportunity to switch or enroll in those supplemental programs.
Open enrollment triggers a blizzard of mailings from competing insurance companies. Every day, I receive mailings, sometimes two from the same insurer on the same day. This year, our mailbox is even fuller because my spouse recently qualified for Medicare.
Before age 65, I didn’t worry much about health insurance. We were covered by good-to-pretty-good insurance from one of our employers.
Now the decision is mine and there are lots of choices, including picking an adviser to help sort it out. Do I gamble on my good health and choose a low-premium, high deductible plan?
All the advertising and promotional meetings cost millions, if not billions of dollars. What would happen to our health-care costs if there wasn’t a need for supplemental insurance? For those under 65, how would the cost and quality change if there was “Medicare for all” or “Medicare for all who want it,” as some presidential candidates have proposed?
The United States ranks nowhere near the top of the list for quality health care, depending on who does the research and what criteria are used. World Population Review ranks the United States at 37th, behind Costa Rica. No matter whose list is used, the United States falls behind countries with universal health care such as Canada, Norway and the Netherlands.
Meanwhile, we’re paying high prices for poor results. According to USA Today, our health care is the most expensive in the world, costing an average of more than $8,000 per person per year.
How much of the $8,000 results from advertising, promotion, paperwork and administration?
I have nothing against advertising or a free market, but the current model is not working.
The quality of your health care should not depend on where you work, your current health, age or how wealthy you are.
People without health care often delay or skip treatments that could keep them healthy or detect conditions early. As a result, they get sicker and die sooner than those with access to affordable care.
Donald Trump’s speeches rage against socialism, most recently last week in Minneapolis. In early October, Trump spoke at the Villages, a community of 50,000 “senior citizens.” As he denounced “socialism” (which he thinks includes universal health care) the crowd cheered. I wonder if Trump and his audience realized he was ranting against two wildly popular “socialist” programs – Medicare and Social Security?
Trump must have missed class to have his bone spurs treated when socialism was discussed during college at the Wharton School. In simple terms socialism is an economic and political system where the ways of making a living are owned by the workers who run them and the people who depend on them. The United States is nowhere near that. But Trump tries to scare people with his socialism rant.
Health care is not free. Somebody has to pay the bill. The argument is what’s the best way to fund it. Right now, many employers pay for at least part of their employees’ health insurance, with health and other benefits making up as much as 30 percent of total compensation. What would happen if, instead of employers and individuals paying premiums, everyone would be taxed so everyone has the same coverage. Taxes would go up, but out-of-pocket costs would essentially go away.
The opposition says that would put private insurers out of business. Too bad. That’s a pretty weak argument.
Ending the blizzard of competing, confusing programs would not only clear out the mailbox and the airwaves but would result in better, affordable care for all.
