Why Health Insurance Premiums Go Up

Lately, those pushing the Health Care debacle have been trying to tell us the bill needs to pass because insurance costs are crippling the nation.

What they are not telling you is WHY the cost of insurance rises so sharply. It is primarily because of the other government health program - Medicare.

Take a colonoscopy as an example. Most hospitals will tell you that the actual cost should be around $800-$900. But they have to charge insurance companies up to $1600 because they lose money on the procedures that are funded through Medicare. Medicare will only pay about $400-$500. So doctors and hospitals have to cover those losses by charging insurers a lot more. And insurers must then raise premiums.

If not for Medicare, hospitals could charge insurers about 40% less - which would reduce the cost of premiums across the board.

The new Health Care bill is nothing more than an extension of Medicare - Medicare on steroids. Which means doctors and hospitals will lose even more money, and be forced to increase what they charge insurers. That, in turn, results in ever-increasing premiums.

The only thing wrong with our health care system is the expense. And the health care bill will actually increase those costs for everyone, resulting in the quality of care being decreased, to help make up for the losses.

Everyone loves Medicare. But the problem lies in the fact that it is Medicare that is primarily responsible for the high costs of health care. More Medicare is not the solution - it will simply make things worse.

We must control costs, but not by cheating doctors and hospitals, forcing them to cheat the insurers who must then cheat us. We must control the costs going in, not coming out. Eliminate frivolous lawsuits. Reduce awards to reasonable amounts in malpractice suits. Allow people to shop nationwide for insurance. Subsidize the reasearch & development for new drugs, so drug companies don't have to charge an arm and a leg for new drugs.

There are many ways to reduce costs and increase efficiency. Tearing down the health care system and replacing it with a government plan is not one of those ways.

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