This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Mylan Pharma, Aetna and Humana are the latest companies to demonstrate the systemic collapse of healthcare in our nation. Dramatic price increases, coverage withdrawal, random additional expenses added to patient bills and insurance rate increases are all symptoms of a broken system. The governmental approach is to create a convoluted, 2,700-page, incomprehensible law that fails to rein in the causes of our healthcare dilemma. The current system allows millions to be victims of their healthcare needs.
Ours is the only nation where hard working people can go bankrupt caring for their families health issues. For those who do not want to embrace a single-payer system (as most of the civilized world has done), I offer the following simple alternative: 1) Allow interstate healthcare insurance competition to leverage free market forces on premiums; 2) initiate tort reform to eliminate the litigious environment that encourages wasteful diagnostic and healthcare practices; and 3) require that all care providers (doctors, therapists, hospitals, etc.) and third party payers (insurance companies) follow a standard fee-for-service system, eliminating the need for armies of administrators to chase/withhold the money. I know that this is pie in the sky, since there is so much vested interest and billions at stake, but when will we return "care" to our healthcare system at an affordable level?
Michael Feldman
Salt Lake City