It's all about the money, say frustrated health care consumers, providers and agencies
The Times-Standard Eureka, California
December 09, 2001
by Jennifer Morey
"When an insurance company executive has the audacity to admit to a state senator that his company doesn't offer drug and alcohol treatment coverage because it simply doesn't want to spend the money, it's a clear illustration of the severity of the health care crisis. Studies have shown that treatment is cost-effective and saves companies millions of dollars, but that doesn't matter to this executive."
California state Sen. Wesley Chesbro, quoting the executive:
"It's fairly simple. We are an investor-owned company. The decision is based on actuarial data. By the time the catastrophic costs are incurred, the person will no longer be employed."
<http://www.times-standard.com/Stories/0,1002,2896~264943,00.html>http://www.times-standard.com/Stories/0,1002,2896%7E264943,00.html
Comment: Sen. Chesbro's hearing was held in rural Humboldt County, a region that is partially dependent on the fragile economy of the fishing and lumbering industries. Managed care plans have failed to enable affordable access to care in Humboldt County and in other rural areas of California. Rather than seeking solutions on how to make managed care plans work for rural communities, we should be advocating for equitable distribution of our resources. A publicly administered program of universal health insurance would assure rural communities that adequate health care resources would always be available to them, and to the rest of us as well.