Support our online development, and advance our onground research initiatives in free market economics, as we seek to showcase the brightest Next-Gen minds.
THE ME-P DISCLAIMER: Posts, comments and opinions do not necessarily represent iMBA, Inc., but become our property after submission. Copyright © 2006 to-date. iMBA, Inc allows colleges, universities, medical and financial professionals and related clinics, hospitals and non-profit healthcare organizations to distribute our proprietary essays, photos, videos, audios and other documents; etc. However, please review copyright and usage information for each individual asset before submission to us, and/or placement on your publication or web site. Attestation references, citations and/or back-links are required. All other assets are property of the individual copyright holder.
Understanding Disproportional Influence
By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA,
Most domestic health care is paid for by some type of insurance, whether private or governmental. Most private health insurance is purchased through employers who, to a great degree, make most of the buying decisions. Employer coalitions have emerged but, in general, most command leverage on price rather than quality or value. This often leaves healthcare providers as the only advocates for the quality, choice and access concerns of consumers.
Business Impact
According to Robert James Cimasi, writing and opining in the print journal: Healthcare Organizations [Financial Management Strateges] www.HealthCareFinancials.com, despite the fact that businesses bear less of the total U.S. healthcare premium dollar (approximately 25%) than government or individuals; corporate buyers and their coalitions and associations have asserted substantial, if disproportionate, influence over healthcare companies.
Best Community Interest Debate
Whether or not this is necessarily always in the best interests of consumers or the community at large is a matter of heated debate. What is generally acknowledged is that the relative bargaining position of buyers and providers in a given market has a dramatic impact on healthcare provider financial performance.
Healthcare is Different
Much like F. Scott Fitzgerald’s different-rich; keep in mind that healthcare differs in several respects from other industry sectors, in that:
-
There is more than one class of buyers: there are patients, families (proxies), insurance companies, and employers, each with different objectives.
-
The single largest payer, the government, both dictates a large portion of the healthcare pricing structure and strongly influences the rest.
-
There is a crucial divide or (“disconnect”) between consumer and payer.
-
A lack of information regarding consumer needs and quality of providers impedes the purchasers of health insurance from selecting the optimal plan.
Assessment
Of course, the impact of the Obama administration on this topic has yet to be seen.
Conclusion
And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated. Is this commercial influence on health insurance good or bad; please share your experiences with us.
Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com or Bio: www.stpub.com/pubs/authors/MARCINKO.htm
Our Other Print Books and Related Information Sources:
Practice Management: http://www.springerpub.com/prod.aspx?prod_id=23759
Physician Financial Planning: http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/0763745790
Medical Risk Management: http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/9780763733421
Healthcare Organizations: www.HealthcareFinancials.com
Health Administration Terms: www.HealthDictionarySeries.com
Physician Advisors: www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com
Subscribe Now: Did you like this Medical Executive-Post, or find it helpful, interesting and informative? Want to get the latest E-Ps delivered to your email box each morning? Just subscribe using the link below. You can unsubscribe at any time. Security is assured.
Link: http://feeds.feedburner.com/HealthcareFinancialsthePostForcxos
Share this:
Filed under: Book Reviews, Ethics, Health Economics, Health Insurance, Health Law & Policy, Healthcare Finance, Insurance Matters, Managed Care, Op-Editorials | Tagged: Health Insurance, hospitals, Managed Care |
The Leading Business Education Network for Doctors, Financial Advisors and Health Industry Consultants 
More on Obama and Health Insuance
It is well known that many comparative effectiveness based medical [EBM] studies have shown that procedures like back surgery, knee arthroscopy and coronary stents often do not produce better outcomes than medical therapy alone, in many [not all] groups of complex patient cohorts.
Nevertheless, has that prevented some orthopedists and neuro-surgeons from operating on every knee and back they see, or some interventional cardiologists from placing stents in every coronary artery they find; for economic reasons? No, it has not.
And so, why would I want my HSA/high-deductible health insurance plan premiums subsidizing those doctors who ignore evidence-based medicine to keep their incomes high? Indeed, why would anyone?
Full disclosure: I am the Founder of http://www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com and a reformed insurance agent, investment advisor and Certified Financial Planner ™
Dr. David Edward Marcinko; FACFAS, MBA, CMP™
[Publisher-in-Chief]
LikeLike