Misdirecting the blame

This is a Letter to the Editor was published in the Wilmington Star News on February 1, 2014.  It is ironic that it was in the paper on the first day of my life that I became eligible for Medicare.

 

Misdirecting the blame

 

Sunday's "60 Minutes" had a gripping segment on the failure of our health care system in dealing with mental illness. A women's support group related the experiences of their loved ones being denied care, often with tragic consequences. Time and again, they blamed insurance companies for denying coverage.

The majority of Americans get their health insurance from their employers, who purchase plans in the for-profit private enterprise system we Americans hold sacred.

Employers buy coverage that aligns with their profit objectives or budgetary constraints. Some plans are rich in benefits, but most … not so much.

People are quick to blame the insurance company when coverage is denied. This is shooting the messenger.

 

Usually, people are getting what they or their employer paid for. The message is that whenever the profit motive of employers and insurance carriers drive the design and administration of health care benefits, patients often don't get what they really need.

 

The U.S. health care system is the most expensive in the world, delivering mediocre results.

Many parts are an unfettered monopoly with no competition or pricing constraints. Profit is king, not the patient.

 

We need a universal, single-payer system under which policy is determined by "we the people," and not by a private enterprise. When this happens, we will be the last first-world country to finally figure this out.

Fred Campau, Wilmington