Change health care for uninsured
By Kay Lapp James
Portage Daily Register
November 9, 2005
Monday’s e-mail contained a surprising press release from Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager. She announced that her office was taking actions against two Milwaukee-area hospitals for unfair trade practices.
The complaints, which are to be filed with the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, say the hospitals charged uninsured patients higher prices than they charged the vast majority of patients who have either Medicare or private insurance. The complaints, according to the press release, seek orders prohibiting hospitals from continuing to charge excessive prices to uninsured patients.
One complaint involves a man who had a stent implanted in his heart and stayed less than 24 hours in the hospital. He supposedly received a 20 percent discount because he did not have insurance. His bill was $33,646. Medicare would pay $15,000 for the same procedure.
In the other case, a woman had emergency gallbladder surgery and was billed $31,614. Medicare would have paid $5,000 for the operation, and the hospital would give an insurance company an average discount of 37 percent.
The difference in prices, or that uninsured people pay the highest prices for medical care, did not surprise me. I heard similar figures when I covered a talk by Drs. Linda and Gene Farley. The Farleys spoke of the need for a national single-payer health plan and discussed the costs and inequities in the current system.
The Farleys spoke at a meeting of the Dells Progressive Voices and their talk was greeted enthusiastically. Most politicians, businesses and the health care establishment have not greeted talk of a single payer or national health care system enthusiastically.
The plight of the uninsured has been ignored since the Clinton administration’s national health care plan got a decidedly chilly reception and defeat. People, corporations and even unions complain of health care’s increasing costs, but like the weather, nobody does anything.
The Farleys said a bill establishing a single payer system in Wisconsin had been introduced, but I doubt it will pass. It has been introduced several times in the past.
My surprise at the press release stems from seeing a politician taking aim at the healthcare establishment. I also learned 22 states have initiated similar moves.
Whether or not Lautenschlager is successful with the complaints, I wonder what the effect will be. Will this bring attention to the problem of not having insurance? Will it focus attention on the mishmash that constitutes the healthcare payment system?
I know people who live without health insurance who fear being sick or having an accident. The Farleys said people die because they don’t have insurance. I know at least one person who declared bankruptcy because of medical bills — common for the uninsured.
The uninsured are not the only ones concerned with the cost of healthcare. Wal-Mart announced new insurance plans for its employees and then an internal memo surfaced. The memo suggests the company hire only healthy, young people and get rid of workers who have health problems. This is from a company that has a large percentage of workers receiving Badger Care.
Wal-Mart is not unique. Other companies may have plans for cutting health care costs. They don’t put them in writing. Because of healthcare costs, I may live in an environment in which those who are not being perfectly healthy won’t be able to work.
Insurance, or the lack there of, concerns more than the uninsured. Employed people do not dare change jobs because a spouse or child has a chronic health concern. I wonder how many people don’t start a business because they cannot start one and afford insurance.
Health care in this country is a mess, and we need changes. Maybe our state can be a leader and start changing the system before it consumes us.
Kay Lapp James is editor of the Dells Events. She can be reached at kjames@capitalnewspapers.com or (608) 745-3567.