Are rising claims to blame for your rising health care costs? My wife informed me yesterday that her monthly insurance fees are going to go up in the next few weeks. Why? Well, in a mandatory employee meeting her superiors told her that it was because there were just too many claims over the past year, and the company could no longer help to cover quite as much as they used to.
Too many claims!? So, basically what they told her and her co-workers is that because too many people go sick, too many people actually used their health insurance, the rates were going up. Does that sound like a reasonable thing to you? I didn’t think so.
The cost of medical care increased 3.3 percent in the past year, the report said, as the price of hospital services jumped 6.5 percent.
While that’s far higher than the 1.5 percent drop in overall prices, health care costs have increased even more quickly in the past. In 1990, they jumped at a 9 percent annual clip, and in 1982, they climbed at an 11.6 percent rate. Overall inflation was much higher in those years as well — 5.4 percent in 1990 and 6.2 percent in 1982. (AP)
Many sources blame the outrageous rates of rising health care costs on inflation, unnecessary medical tests, medical malpractice, and the slow pace of medical technology. The amount of money that people are spending on health care these days outweighs the rate of inflation, so that it seems no matter how much you are making it doesn’t show up.
On the other side of the coin, many sources blame the advancement of medical technology for the rising health care costs. They are saying that because of our amazing medical breakthroughs, we offer more tests than ever, more diseases and cancers are treatable, and thus that all costs more money. The bigger picture was supposed to be that these were preventative practices that were actually saving us money in the long run, but now some skeptics don’t believe it.
And, of course, there’s the Baby Boomer argument that assumes the older generations are to blame for our rising health care costs. Could it be? Well, we are living longer right now, and living with disease much longer than we used to, which is costing us millions more than it used to. New technologies, medical breakthroughs probably coincide with older generations, but the Baby Boomers are definitely not to blame.
According to an article that I found on Kaiser’s website, administrative costs are to blame:
Administrative costs – It is estimated that at least 7% of health care expenditures are for administrative costs (e.g. marketing, billing) and this portion is much lower in the Medicare program (<2%), which is operated by the federal government. [3] Some argue that the mixed public-private system creates overhead costs and large profits that are fueling health care spending. (Kaiseredu.org)
It’s interesting to do some research to find out who thinks what when it comes to rising health care costs. Is it the uninsured that are raising our health care costs? Is it the older generations? Or the massive amounts of claims due to our medical knowledge and preventative medicines? Is it the outrageous prices of prescription medication?
You tell us what you think. Then head over to http://www.noinsuranceclub.com for your health care needs.
