Health4all

Every year more Alaskan families lose health insurance and can't afford health care. Every year more families with health insurance cannot afford to use it because of expensive out-of-pocket charges. Every year more Alaskan elders with Medicare are refused treatment by local physicians. And every year health care in Alaska continues to cost 30 percent more than down south. These problems are a reflection of the crisis across the nation. Not surprisingly, the United States ranks last in preventable deaths compared to 14 Western European nations. We have a lot to talk about.


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Larry Weiss

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Lawrence D. Weiss retired from UAA in 2004 as a research professor in public health. He designed and built the Master of Public Health program at UAA, and has published three books and numerous articles on public health and health policy issues. He completed a post-doctoral degree at Harvard School of Public Health in 1982, and has been in Alaska ever since. His favorite expression is "facts matter." Occasionally he can be found in a local pub drinking beer and eating pizza while engaged in passionate conversation with friends.

Archive

Why We Need Fundamental Health Care Reform #3 - 8/29/2008 2:22 pm

Why We Need Fundamental Health Care Reform #2 - 8/25/2008 4:23 pm

Why We Need Fundamental Health Care Reform #1 - 8/22/2008 5:46 pm

Great Olympians but Terrible Health Care - 8/20/2008 2:45 pm

Legislative Health Caucus August 20: Addressing the Energy Crisis for Alaskan Families - 8/15/2008 4:00 pm

More Free and Cheap Health Care And Other Services - 8/14/2008 11:39 am

Mired in the Health Care Morass - Part 2 - 8/12/2008 11:39 am

Prevention in Health Care: Perhaps Overstated But A Good Idea - 8/6/2008 10:55 pm

Stand Up For Health Care - 8/4/2008 9:18 am

Mired in the Health Care Morass - Part 1 - 7/28/2008 5:16 pm

Supersize My Order Please! - 7/25/2008 5:59 pm

Senators Against Bush to Support Health Care for Kids - 7/25/2008 5:53 pm

Free Services for the Homeless - August 1 - 7/19/2008 8:09 am

Two Health Insurance Tricks Exposed - 7/16/2008 6:20 pm

The "Reduced Shakespeare" of the History of American Medicine - 7/14/2008 3:51 pm

Senator Stevens Gets Medicare Reimbursement Increase for Alaska - 7/12/2008 8:00 am

Alaska Guide to Finding Health Insurance Coverage - 7/9/2008 4:04 pm

New Guidelines For Health Care Outside USA - 7/4/2008 8:58 am

Your Medical History Future in the Clouds - 7/4/2008 12:18 am

Rekindling Reform Looks At The Big Health Policy Picture - 6/30/2008 11:11 am

Cheap Health Insurance: You Don't Get What You Pay For - 6/28/2008 12:28 pm

Likely Health Consequences of Climate Change - 6/26/2008 3:08 pm

full archive »

The USA Really Does Have a Different Health Care System

Posted by health4all

Posted: May 21, 2008 - 1:46 pm

I believe there is no better way to begin to think about how to improve access to health care in the United States than to see how it works in other industrial nations. The short reason for this is that by most standard measures nearly every nation does it better than we do. Last month a documentary aired on Frontline called "Sick Around the World." The Kaiser Family Foundation website featuring a discussion about this documentary notes that:

"The documentary explores the challenges for industrialized countries in stemming the rising cost of health care driven by new medical technologies, making better use of medical evidence in clinical practice, responding to an aging population, and improving quality of care. How countries around the world address these issues – and how they have evolved to the health systems they have today – may be instructive as a new President and Congress tackle changes to the U.S. health system." You can see the entire documentary on the FRONTLINE Web site.

I would also like to point out that also on the Kaiser website there is an excellent wide-ranging introductory discussion by a panel of experts on international health care, with specific reference to the documentary. It is especially interesting because they do not all share the same perspectives on the issues. This forum is meant to be heard before you take on the full documentary. You have the options of reading the transcript of the forum, seeing a video of the forum, or listening to a podcast.

After the forum and the documentary, I am certain that you will never think about health care in the United States in quite the same way. And that is a good beginning.


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  1     May 22, 2008 - 10:42am | WinBeach

Fixing Medicare?

It appears that Congress is unwilling to fix Medicare's major problems with simple solutions. If one problem in Alaska is the lack of doctors who will accept Medicare patients, and those who do must limit the number to about 15-20% of their practice, then why can't I pay the full bill and get reimbursed the little bit that Medicare would normally pay?

I have asked this of our Congressional delegation but was told that can't be done. No real explanation was given. If I can pay and elect to pay the full bill, wouldn't that open up another Medicare "slot" that the doctor can then accept? Not everyone can or will pay the full amount, but if I want to stay with my doctor, that is one solution.

I have found out that there are barriers to getting reimbursed for the bills I may pay and then wish to get reimbursed for. That has to do with the contract that Medicare makes with the company who actually sends out the Medicare payments to the doctors. Those contracts are written in such a way that patients can't easily send in paper copies of bills nor even get a denial letter so they can then appeal the decision. If a patient does not get a denial letter, no appeal can be made. It takes more time and money to deal with claims sent in via mail rather than by e-mail like the doctors do.

Surely there is a way for the customer to be part of the solution to this Medicare mess. But without the willpower of Congress to realize there ARE simple solutions and then be willing to think outside the box, we will continue to have people without effective health care even though they pay monthly for it.

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