The systems keep getting more complicated and as human bodies we are shoved into data bases, analyzed and sometimes treated less than human when inquires are sent or claim denials are questioned. Unfortunately our health insurance industry sees us humans as “numbers” first it seems. That is all we hear about is cost and when one is kept in the dark long enough and fed you know what, after a while we start to become a product of the analytical environment and miss where the human side of life used to be. I’m sure those are some of the echoes of this survey. Certainly we all want to live healthier lives and learn but when it is put out in the format of wondering if someone is going to sell your data and secondly use it against you in some “scoring” analysis as which is touted big time today on the web, well who likes that stuff, I don’t.
Health insurance as all seem to want to achieve the goals of being “personal” in the US is about as far away as one can get and that gap keep growing all the time with the analysis processes we see today – those algorithms for profit. Anymore when something new comes out, the first objective is to have to fully read the fine print and see what consequences a “new and easier” program has to offer as the old saying of “if it’s too good to be true it probably is”. One good thing happening though is the new CMS Innovation Center and hopefully this is a good start to analyze and look at all the huge Health IT expenses for algorithmic formulas to study us. If we are getting information back on better care, no problem, but gee somebody has to take a look at all the complicated algorithms for sale with the payer 
side as those folks make millions and many are traded on Wall Street.
CMS Introduces The Innovation Center for Medicare & Medicaid–A Place for Collaboration
We all need auditing and information processes and they are not going away, but we have such a glut and that side of healthcare feeds itself regularly with adding a new transaction for a set of new algorithms all the time, so it’s a constant process without enough collaboration and boy do we pay. When we speak of finding value in healthcare, this is one are that is totally ripe for an overhaul as we have the medical records side pretty well, but how about certifying some of these payer software systems next, I think it’s a good idea and to have an algorithmic centric sample filed so those wanting to inquire get a visual of how it works, helps folks see what they are getting for their money this way, just like EHRs.
Are We Ever Going to Get Some Algorithm Centric Laws Passed for Healthcare!
People though with Medicare overall are happier and one good reason is that they don’t have to worry about losing it, and that’s a big one as they don’t cost us out in a data table with an algorithm to see if we are too expensive to keep on board. BD
Nov. 17, 2010 -- An international survey shows that the U.S. leads the industrialized world in out-of-pocket medical expenses and lack of access to medical care due to costs.
Americans were more likely than people living elsewhere to report having trouble paying medical bills and going without needed medical care because it was too expensive.
Satisfaction with health care was not much higher for insured Americans than for those without insurance, according to the survey by the health care research and advocacy group Commonwealth Fund.
Dissatisfaction with insurance was higher in the U.S. than anywhere else. The survey included close to 20,000 adults living in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland.
Survey: Americans Unhappy With Health Insurance
I'm not surprised. Insurance companies in the US need to work harder to gain their customer's trust. I think they are finally beginning to realize that and change their ways.
ReplyDelete