Cmon, all the cool kids have one and well
so does everyone else. Not too long ago, I coined the new saying Opinions are like health care reform proposals everybody has one. As proof, heres the latest, this one from Samuel H. Fleet, president of AmWINS Group Benefits. Policymakers are missing many of the key opportunities to address what is really broken about the system.
To pick up where he believes lawmakers have left off, Fleet recently released a health care reform position paper, The Six Ways to Fix Our Healthcare System. Boiled down, Fleet writes that reform must:
1. Restore competition in the marketplace.
The four largest carriers in the country have 99% of providers in the network and in most states, the No. 1 carrier has 60% to 70% market share. In any other industry, this would raise antitrust issues, he writes. But for health care, no one seems concerned. His solutions: break up the BUCA monopoly (Blue Cross Blue Shield, United Healthcare, CIGNA and Aetna) and restore competition to the marketplace.
2. Enable consumer to become astute buyers of health care.
Fleet insists that the key to cost control is to bring transparency to pricing. For example, a California patient who needs a chest X-ray is charged anywhere from $120 to $1,519; in fact within a few blocks in Sacramento the price climbs from $451 to $790 from one hospital to the next. The fix? Every provider must disclose the net prices that they charge and consumers need to know how to find high-quality care.
