Cost Solutions

I don't know about you all, but we get thirty phone calls a day from various companies wanting us to listen to their pitch on changing our Medicare advantage coverage to whatever crap they are pushing. It is annoying and I feel like crawling through the phone and choking the liar on the other end.

But that is not what this is about today.

Well, it is about Medicare in a sense. It is also about Social Security, insurance costs, and the rest of our out of control world revolving around all these, including lawsuits. We really need to fix the entire medical system first before we can ever get a handle on fixing the safety net we have become increasingly dependent on for our retirement.

It seems as if our social security increase for 2026 is going to be 2.8%. That is fine but it isn't going to change anyone's life. It especially won't when it appears that the increase for Medicare part A&B will increase by 8.7-9.2%. So those of us getting both will be taking a giant step backward once again.

Let me pause here to point out that I am not a proponent of socialism. I don't believe in free handouts, or forcing people with money to hand it over to those that don't have money. I also am not a proponent of the medical system they have in Canada and other countries around the world. I want to go see the doctor I want to go see and I don't want the government telling me who I have to go to for help.

So, back to my topic.

The medical industrial complex will tell you that their biggest issue is the out of control costs for medical malpractice insurance. It is forcing many Doctors to quit because they just can't afford their insurance. The rising costs result in Doctors and hospitals to charge outrageous amounts of money for goods and services to offset these costs. There is also a huge gaming of the charges to Medicare and insurance companies to make sure they get the money they want from them.

For example. Say you go see your primary for a yearly check up. Your insurance will cover that visit with you paying a $25 co-pay. Now the Doctor feels he/she should charge $150 for the visit because their time is more valuable than yours which is why they make you wait for 30 minutes in the cold sterile examining rooms to see them. They charge the insurance company $200 for the visit. They fight back and forth and settle on $150 which is what they wanted to begin with. All this costs them and us money, raising the premiums to cover the dicking around.

Don't even get me started on hospital charges but rest assured it is an even bigger scam then the primary has foisted on everyone.

Here is where it gets more complicated. The cost of doing business in New York City is far greater then the cost of doing business in Butte, Montana. Doctors in NYC have higher rent, insurance, and supplies then they do in smaller markets. Medicare, and insurance companies, setting fees they will pay means the larger market medical organizations are not getting fair market value for their services. This is not fair or right.

On the other hand hospitals charging $46 for a Q-Tip when you can go to any retailer and buy a box of 1000 for $3.68 is not right either. So, how do we fix this problem?

Instead of suing Doctors, hospitals, or other medical organizations for the sudden death or dismemberment of you or your loved one, they should be brought up on criminal charges instead. If your shoddy medical assistance caused someone to be hurt or killed then you should go on trial and face jail time. County's should be forced to set up medical trail staff to handle complaints and everyone that desires to do so should be allowed to bring someone, or some organization, to trial. You get no financial resolution if you win but you do get justice.

This would greatly lower insurance costs, bringing the industry back to reality, and just as importantly, keep everyone in the medical complex under control to do their jobs correctly. Could it lead to frivolous trials, maybe, but at least we would begin to get our medical costs back under control and then we can go about fixing the Social Security mess and be able to pay out increases more in line with the cost of bread then we are currently doing.

Look, we can't keep having huge increases in our medical costs and we can't keep losing Doctors or hospitals because they can't cover their expenses. I have no idea if this would even work, but it is a starting point for discussions.

Talk among yourselves and get back to me.