David Hoppe

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:: What we think about

when we think about health care

By David Hoppe
 

Of all the words I've read about health care reform over the past year or so, here are some that really stick in my craw. They come from Lisa Guertin, a senior vice president for commercial marketing and products at health insurance giant WellPoint, here in Indianapolis.

Guertin was quoted in a column by The Star's Daniel Lee on the subject of ever-increasing out-of-pocket costs associated with health insurance plans like those sold by WellPoint.  Here is what WellPoint's Guertin said about making you pay for more of your health care:

"It's helping people think about the care they're getting, the cost of that care, the quality of that care."

Thank you, Ms. Guertin. WellPoint is giving its customers more "help" than ever. In some cases, out-of-pocket costs for WellPoint insurance customers can run as high as $10,000.

And yes, when a person knows they're going to be paying thousands of dollars for care before their insurance kicks in, I guess that would tend to make that person, as Ms. Guertin puts it, "think."

And what might they be thinking about?

Maybe that their kid can't breathe at night and what to do about it. Or that they've lost the feeling in their feet and are constantly afraid of falling down. Maybe it's that lump they just found on their neck, or the stabbing pain, deep in the gut, which keeps coming back. And what about that cough that won't go away?

Then there are the property taxes and the car payments. The groceries and the school bills. They say it's going to be a cold winter - the cost of heating is going up. The kids need winter coats. The roof is leaking.

And speaking of the car: The brake warning light's been on for a week. Better take it in. Again.

Then there's the memo the boss sent on Friday. Another round of lay-offs is expected before the end of the year. Just in time for Christmas.

So yes, a person will think about the cost of the health care they're getting. You know what they'll think? Unless that person has a title, like senior vice president for commercial marketing and products, there's a good chance they'll think the cost is more than they can afford.

But they'll pay it. They'll find a way to pay it. They'll take out a second mortgage or sell the house, cash in the retirement fund, go deeper into debt.

And all the while they'll be thinking how lucky they are, how goddam lucky, to have been paying all those weeks and months and years for that WellPoint policy at work.

Ms. Guertin would have us think that health care is something we shop for, like a pair of shoes.

But in Indiana that would mean that over six out of every ten shoe stores were the same, because WellPoint controls over 60 percent of the market in this state. That's another thing people here might think about when it comes to the cost and quality of their health care. They might think that it would be nice to have more options.

Last week, Sen. Harry Reid from Nevada announced that he would bring a health care bill to the Senate floor that includes a public health insurance option, meaning a government-sponsored, nonprofit health insurance plan that people could purchase if they thought it a better deal than, say, what they were getting from WellPoint.

Reid's proposal has a kicker. It includes an opt-out provision for the states. A given state could choose not to offer the public option.

Public option opponents see Reid's opt-out provision as a Trojan horse. They point out that Medicare has a similar provision and no state has ever chosen to opt-out. This should tell you something about how popular Medicare has turned out to be.

But Reid's opt-out provision should give people in Indiana chills. That's because this state is home not only to WellPoint, but the Eli Lilly pharmaceutical company, two of the biggest opponents to meaningful health care reform. Both companies have poured millions and millions of dollars into lobbying efforts aimed at trying to keep the government from doing anything that might affect their bottom lines.

What's more, this state's political elite is beholden to these companies. Susan Bayh is on WellPoint's board; Bart Peterson is a Lilly vice president - the same job Gov. Mitch Daniels once held. Evan Bayh has threatened to help Republicans keep Harry Reid's bill from reaching a vote.

It would be one thing if the presence of these health business giants made Indiana famous for the quality and reasonable cost of its health care system. If Hoosiers ranked among the healthiest people in the nation. But we know this isn't true. We know that when we think about the cost and quality of the health care that's available, even to those among us with insurance, the risk of financial ruin is too real to ignore.

Ms. Guertin, we don't just think about this; it keeps a lot of us awake at night.  

If you want a public option, call Sen. Bayh today and tell him: (202) 224-5623.