Unless you are really sick, you have no idea how good your insurance is, Dr. Betsy Rosenthal told the Local Summit at its February 23rd meeting.
Dr. Rosenthal, who has had a private dermatology practice in
HIDDEN COSTS OF HEALTH INSURANCE
Ms. Winton, in her role at the Cancer Support Team, sees many people who become ill and, since they have private insurance, expect to receive good medical treatment and do not expect to become destitute. However, she has come to see that copayments, deductibles and other out-of-pocket expenses for medications and treatments that are essential to survival can quickly mount to the extent that the patient cannot afford both medical care and normal household expenses. Even when an individual may be eligible for Medicaid, it is a complex process and there is typically a lag of six weeks before such an application is approved. Most people do not want to wait that long before seeking treatment because of the health risk involved. Judy Dobrof, Executive Director of Cancer Support Team and panel moderator, pointed out that all of this was true not just for cancer, but for any chronic illness or acute health issue.
WE HEAR THESE STORIES EVERY DAY
Real life stories shared by Ms. Winton illuminated the problem. In one, a patient required radiation treatments. While these were covered by private insurance, the copayment was $50 per treatment, with 30 to 35 treatments being required. This was just one of the many costs he was required to pay out-of-pocket. Another cancer patient with private insurance coverage had 2009 out-of-pocket costs totaling $23,000. Now that it is 2010, she is facing new deductibles and increased co-insurance costs. This patient actually has limited her visits to the oncologist because of the unaffordability of her health care, putting her in a terrible Catch-22. Without consistent treatment, her condition will deteriorate, and if she can’t work, she won’t be able to pay for her insurance. This prompted Dr. Rosenthal to point out what she believes to be one of the ironies of our current health care system, "If you are too sick to work, what do you lose? Your health insurance. Just when you need it."
Ms. Winton ended her case studies with the sobering statement, "We hear these stories every single day."
MEDICAL DEBTS ADD UP
Dr. Rosenthal echoed Ms. Winton’s statements when she said that many people do not realize that they are in for a "really, really horrible surprise" about how much coverage they have when faced with a catastrophic health care issue. She has experienced situations where she could not prescribe what was needed because her patients could not afford it, and has also seen patients bankrupted due to medical debt. Dr. Rosenthal cited a recent study in the American Journal of Medicine that found that 62 percent of all bankruptcies filed in 2007 were linked to medical expenses. Of these, nearly 80 percent had health insurance.
A FLAWED SYSTEM?
Dr. Rosenthal argued that even basic American health care is just not affordable. Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP; www.pnhp.org/ www.pnhpnymetro.org), an organization of which Dr. Rosenthal is a member, projects that by the year 2025, the average health insurance premium for a family of four will equal the average income for a family of four, based on the explosive growth in insurance premium rates.
In Dr. Rosenthal’s view, private health care is systemically flawed, because collecting premiums and not paying all of what is collected for treatment is the only way these companies can make a profit. She further pointed out that they are have incentives to cover only healthy people, not sick people.
LOBBYING FOR CHANGE
Lillian Jones spoke about the concerns the American Cancer Society (ACS) has regarding our current health care system. Ms. Jones says that ACS realizes that although great strides are being made in the prevention, detection and treatment of cancer, these are only meaningful if people have access to the appropriate screenings, care, drugs and treatment. Because of this, the non-partisan, issues-oriented American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN; www.acscan.org) is kicking off an electronic petition drive, entitled "Don’t Give Up on Health Care Reform," through their website later this week.
Panel members pointed out the importance that lobbying will have on the outcome of health care reform. Dr. Rosenthal said heath insurers are front and center in the debate, lobbying hard, because they have revenues at stake. Ms. Jones pointed out that 95% of the calls our
MESSAGE NOW IS JUST REFORM
Other audience members expressed the opinion that many have kept silent because of the complexity of the issue. So many health care models have been introduced that it is difficult to keep track of the differences. Ms. Jones said this problem can be solved quite simply by just coming to legislators with the message that reform is needed, and not sweating the details, because the program can always be modified later. If we do not pass reform now, it will be many years before we will get the opportunity again, she emphasized.
The Local Summit, which hosted the meeting, is an informal community council that seeks to make Larchmont/Mamaroneck a better place to live for everyone. Its regular monthly meetings take place at 7:45 a.m., typically on the third Tuesday of the month at the Nautilus Diner in
