A New Take On Helping Deal with Health Care

Barbara Kiviat recently wrote a blog post about the cost of health care and and what she thinks could help us deal with the debate. She has the idea that if everything, (x-ray scans, doctor visits, MRI scans, etc.) had a price tag on it then the public can know how much everything is costing and if there is a cheaper way to deal with the problem.

My colleague Kate Pickert tells me that some 30% of health-care costs are attributable to waste. I am happy to know I am now doing my part to cut down on that.

If the public were able to price everything on the spot and decide whether or not their issue is worth it, the cost of health care could possibly be helped, at least for every individual. This idea formed when Ms. Kiviat had a change in her health insurance, prior to the change she paid a flat fee every time for any type of visit; with her new plan, she now pays 10% of whatever the treatment costs. Although she now pays more for her visits, she decides what is truly an urgent matter, and what can simply be fixed with a little ice and rest.

Of course, this is a controversial view, on one hand this can be useful and certainly money-wise; but what about the people who have serious issues, such as internal bleeding, and make the decision to forgo the X-ray because of the cost but in reality need medical assistance? It seems to me that either decision is going to be easily debatable and hopefully President Obama will help to alleviate the health care stress.