Nashville Knucklehead

My Healthcare Solution

Michael Moore is making the rounds again. I don't pay attention to him. Never have. I guess now he's taking on the evil health care industry.

I will agree with people who say that our health care system is messed up. But you want to get the government involved in running it? That's where I gotta draw the line.

I have a theory about it. I am convinced that the reason our health care system is such a mess is that people use their insurance to go to the doctor. The $10 co-pay is the most ridiculous idea since the invention of capitalism. That's like using your car insurance to get your oil changed. Doctors are highly educated professional specialists. Paying ten or 25 dollars to see them is just stealing.

The only argument I've ever heard that comes close to making sense is that the insurance companies would rather have a person use preventive tactics than wait until the last minute. It's easier and cheaper to remove a suspect mole than treat someone for advanced melanoma, I suppose. But still, ten bucks? People pay more than that to get their palms read.

To me, the co-pay is dumbing the system down. That's why the emergency room is filled with folks with the sniffles. Imagine what the emergency room would be like if "the government" paid for everything.

I don't go to the doctor unless my guts have actually fallen out of my body. Even when I had a co-pay, I didn't run to a doctor every time I felt a little sick. I don't think it is unreasonable to pay more for a yearly physical than you would to tune up your car, or get new tires. Right now, I don't have a co-pay. I am self employed. I have catastrophic-only insurance. I pay about a hundred bucks to see a doctor. But my doctor is a freaking DOCTOR, fercrissakes. That seems fair to me.

posted by Nashville Knucklehead @ 8:07 AM