I’m confused – Are we creating personal accountability in our health care system or not?!
In my opinion, the move toward consumer driven health care is long over due. Why shouldn’t consumers purchase health care utilizing the same economic cost benefit analysis used to purchase most other consumer goods and services? The successful evolution of consumer driven health care plans (those with super high deductibles coupled with health savings accounts) demonstrate to us that individuals are in fact willing to shop for health care utilizing a cost benefit analysis. More and more consumers are demanding to know the cost of services before purchasing and are studying that pricing data in light of available quality data in order to make more educated health care purchasing decisions. Consumer driven health care plans have been decades in the making. They are forcing a degree of personal accountability into the health care market place. So, if health care policy is moving toward empowering consumers to make health care decisions on their own with an eye on the economics of the situation, why is it that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act contains a provision requiring group health plans and insurers which offer dependant coverage of children to extend such coverage to dependants until they reach the age of 26?
gmoore | 3 Comments | Email Article | Share Article | Print Article | tagged Health Care Reform May 18, 2010