Fixing healthcare should be a top priority for the next administration because it directly impacts key issues like the economy and border security. Manufacturing jobs go overseas because of the high cost of health benefits and undocumented workers are hired because no one owes them health benefits. If the goal is to modernize government agencies to make them more efficient, healthcare is the perfect place to start because even small changes can reap lasting rewards. Here is a list of what can be done:
1. Suspend all incentives
Everyone who works in healthcare, physicians, nurses, hospital administrators and insurance company employees, all agree there is too much bureaucracy. What fuels this is a never-ending quest to acquire data, which is usually redundant, irrelevant, inaccurate and often delays patient care. However, the demand for data is not only required for prior authorizations and payments, but is tied to quality initiatives and incentives designed to decrease fraud, control cost and improve outcomes. To date, it has not because the cost of collecting data to deny care or payment is higher than the payment itself. Administrative costs have skyrocketed and now make up more than 75% of the healthcare dollar. Removing incentives would immediately decompress the system, freeing physicians and nurses from unnecessary paperwork and allowing hospitals to redirect resources back to the bedside. Suspending incentives also would eliminate penalties. Don’t bonus us for doing our job, but pay us fairly and promptly for the services provided. It’s easy enough to try, and after a few months, we can see if the cost of managing care is worth it.
