Insurance: Part 2

Many of you in Arizona recently read in the paper or on the web about the “pinch” chiropractors are feeling from new insurance policies. To summarize, third party companies are now managing your alternative health care provider and deciding what treatment is and isn’t allowed, regardless of your insurance policy. To some this might seem like fraud, you paying for something and not being able to get it, but never the less, it is happening.

This brings up the question: whose choice is it when it comes to your health care? Yours? Your doctor? Your insurance provider? The Government??? Unfortunately many of us think we have control over our health choices, and take advice from the doctors to make the best choices. But in most cases, like the current situation in Arizona, despite what you think you pay for someone else is watching the bottom line and making those choices for you; even someone that hasn’t examined you or even knows you.  This is not a new issue.

Let’s be honest, insurance companies cannot be expected to pay for it all. They are in the business to make money, and health care costs are getting out of control. Always keep in mind that insurance companies are a business, and not there to make any and all health care available for you.

Government health care is a hot topic, and many feel that it’s needed to bring health care to those who can’t afford it. But these health care decisions won’t be handed over to you, because just like insurance companies today, they have a budget to run on. And insuring everyone is certainly going to be costly. Ask anyone from England or Canada, many health care costs are out of pocket for them, and accessibility is still an issue.

While insurance coverage is sky rocketing, and deductibles are growing, who’s making the money? It must be the medical profession! Let me let you in on a little secret, the fees you see on your doctor’s bill isn’t what they are getting from the insurance company. As the Arizona article stated, current reimbursement for a chiropractic adjustment is about $44 from the insurance company. $40 of that is probably your copay! So some might think that hiring staff at an hourly rate to bill your insurance company, and fill out loads of forms to do so, might not be worth the $4 they will get in return in 4 weeks. 

Is there a solution? Not in the near future. Some places, like The Joint, are making it a little easier by offering affordable care and bypassing the hassles of insurance. This is a rare option in the medical field but hopefully a more common one in the future. Insurance won’t be going away soon, and options like government insurance will only bring new problems that are just as difficult. In the meantime, we need to start making smarter health choices for ourselves, taking care of our self before costly health problems arise, and fully understand our choices when it comes to our health care.