Skin in the game: 52/100
18 September, 2016 | Index
Dear Hillary Clinton,
My name is Gerard Mclean, from Englewood, Ohio, just north of Dayton. This is the fifty-second letter on health care. The others can be found in your USPS mailbox or online at 100HRC.com
Remember when I met with some old friends for breakfast about a month ago? I need to share one thing one of my friends said, that has been sticking in my head:
“They have to have some skin in the game.”
All the data show that copays and deductibles — what is commonly called skin in the game — actually reduces the effectiveness of health care.
I have a lot of “skin” in my game by paying for premiums, in addition to copays and deductibles. My “skin” is:
· a doctor’s visit ($180.00)
· a full blood panel ($300.00)
· x-ray, bone scan or MRI ($1,300.00-$3,200.00)
before any treatment for anything is actually administered should the tests be positive. At that point, I have already almost exhausted my copay and deductible.
For me, I can weather over $22,000/yr in combined health care costs if I needed to. It kinda beats dying, but for some people, a mere $30 copay and $400 for a low-grade, value MRI, in addition to the $6,200/yr max OOP that most marketplace plans have are stratospheric health care costs. Contrary to common wisdom, knowing the costs and having “skin in the game” does not lead to “responsible” health care consumption.
If we are serious about effective health care, we need UniversalCare, SinglePayer, MedicareForAll, not “affordable copays and deductibles” as stated in the policy on your website. We need to pay with less “skin.”
Regards,
Gerard McLean
cc: Sen. Sherrod Brown
