MUST READ: The New Health Dialogue Outlines Why Just Attacking Health Plans Doesn't Solve the Cost Conundrum
Posted by The Campaign on June 22, 2010 at 12:20 PM
This is a great piece that ran as a blog entry on The New America Foundation’s blog “The New Health Dialogue.” It smartly makes the point that just focusing on health insurers does not solve the problem of ever increasing costs. Here are some key excerpts and the full piece is below:
“But it's important to remember that to the extent that the focus remains on health insurers' rate increases we may miss the point on overall rising health care costs, and maybe even accelerate their growth.”
"This is because the amount that we pay for private health insurance is primarily determined by the prices that insurers negotiate on our behalf with doctors and hospitals."
"But the logic of rising health care costs is inexorable. Until the people who negotiate with doctors’ offices and hospitals are in a position to get a better deal on our behalf, they will not get a better deal."
"Standing in the middle of this road, it is largely the same group of insurers who have to keep fighting to keep health care costs down for businesses and families. And it’s not at all clear that they will be successful in this fight on our behalf if we focus the majority of our own attention on beating up on them."
