The very words send shivers down the spines of politicians and health care professionals, Senior Citizen's groups, news reporters and the elderly, but not for the reasons you may think. I'm here to talk about the existence, implications and repercussions of "Medicare Fraud" without the newspeak deceptions spouted by the politicians, the cloud of misinformation given to the elderly, or the cowed subservience of the majority of health care professionals.
The first and foremost FRAUD is the idea that any and all health care should and must be shared "equally" by everyone. This is the basis for government control and, surprising to some, the increasing rationale of health care today. The only thing that can truly be shared equally by all is the opportunity to obtain needed health care. Health care is a finite product of the work and ideas of countless people. When it is stolen from the producers, it becomes ever more scarce and less reliable. That is the natural reaction of human beings to theft. Who does their best work as a prisoner? Who cheerfully hands over the fruits of his labor to the robber?
Health care professionals have families to support, retirement to provide for, lives to live as much as anyone. They have the same right as everyone else to get compensation for their work and negotiate for the best wages and benefits they can get. They donate their time and knowledge as much or more than anyone else, but they can't work without compensation any more than the mechanic or the tax consultant can. Yet this is so often what is really expected. God loves a cheerful giver, but the forced "gift" brings no merit to anyone, least of all the recipients.
That leads to the second FRAUD. The propaganda goes out endlessly that the health care industry is responsible for the ever increasing costs of Medicare because of deceptive billing, greed and waste. Nobody says a word about the incredible pressures of bloated regulations, paperwork and reporting which are not factored into the payment for health care services. Thousands of hours are required to satisfy the paperwork requirements alone and the "guidelines" for compensation are many thousands of pages in length, often contradicting themselves along the way. When the "answer" to problems is more rules and more paperwork, only the costs increase, not the service.
Then, the third FRAUD comes into play. This one is the hardest for most people to see, but it is the cornerstone of the whole problem. When people have been convinced by government and other organizations that they have a "right" to all the "health care" they want, that the health care professionals should and must provide everything they want on demand, and that they are not required to pay for any of it from their own pocket, the demand for services and goods skyrocket as history has demonstrated so clearly. It is amazing what a tiny co-pay will do to the absolute "necessity" of the service, making mockery of the whole process and, so, of course being fought vigorously by all who seemingly profit from the "free lunch".
------------------------------------------------------- When the demand increases and, at least in the beginning, the payment for that demand is made with little question, the price will naturally follow the curve up. The law of supply and demand is absolute and governments or individuals defy it only for a time before it overtakes them. It can be based on honest supply and demand and remain in balance for many years, or based on lies and the confiscation of goods and services; in which case it will go wildly out of control and damage everyone who participates. That is where we find ourselves today. The demand far exceeds the ability of anyone to pay, whether by confiscation of earnings in Medicare Taxes or the squeezing of the providers. Squeezed too hard, they just go out of business. Blood cannot be drawn from a turnip, no matter how much it is mashed.
"THE LAW OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND IS ABSOLUTE AND GOVERNMENTS OR INDIVIDUALS DEFY IT ONLY FOR A TIME BEFORE IT OVERTAKES THEM."
-------------------------------------------------------Then, fourth and least, is the FRAUD of the few who actually do indulge in false billing and the like. Those who perpetrate the first three frauds would very much like to see everyone concentrate on these few, so that they may continue with theirs undetected. When the individual patient is paying for his or her care, he or she (or the families) will take great care that the services are appropriate, timely, and cost effective. The crook who has a client and family looking over his shoulder is less apt to have a chance for theft than if he is being "watched" by a bureaucracy 2,000 miles away where one person is as unknown as the next.
When each one pays his own way, or pays his own insurance costs and the resulting co-pays and deductibles, the cost of needed services will more closely match the amount each person is able to pay. Without a roomy money pouch always open, the providers will have every incentive to be efficient, productive, and satisfy their customers and compete for their business with reasonable prices just like any other professional service. Without the endless and useless regulations, paperwork and reporting burden from government, professional services can be provided at those reasonable and competitive prices to all who have the incentive to seek them and for those whom charities identify as worthy of their patronage.
There is no such thing as a free lunch, even in the emergency department!
------------------------------------------------------- Susan Callaway handles the "Sierra Times" Mailbag and is better known as "SierraSue.
To read more informative articles by Ray Thomas and others check out the "Information Central" section on my web site.. Just go to https://www.angelfire.com/co2/RayThomas and click on "Information Central."
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