Insurance…on the way out?

Insurance as we know it is becoming a thing of the past. The powers that be are raising our deductibles , increasing our out of pocket expenses while reducing benefits. While I don’t agree with the process, as a business person, i certainly understand why.

As a doctor I insurance abused on a daily basis, from both the patients and the doctors. As patients, we go to the emergency at a moments notice for insignificant treatments, such as headaches, back pain and upset stomaches. We rack up claims for conditions that if you just took it easy, would other wise go away on their own.

If you look back through history insurance, was intended to buffer the event of severe or catastrophic injury. It was meant to ease the costs of broken legs, surgery and long term illness not sprained ankles.

As a result these frivolous claims, insurance companies have had to raise rates to keep up with payouts. They are now trying to make it to where you have to pay for these frivolous claims or not go to the doctor at all…Which i believe is the right thing. However, the doctors lose revenue which in turn forces the doctor to do more and charge more for each visit.

The whole system is broken. Is Universal Healthcare the answer? Hillary Care? Government sponsored care? What replaces will be anyones guess.