A Triangle man writes in the latest print version of U.S. News & World Report:
[U.S. News editor Mortimer] Zuckerman states: ?When people aren?t exposed to the true cost of their care ? they simply consume more.? I have former employer-paid health insurance and know how much they pay. I also know how much I pay, and it gets my attention. As a tax preparer, I know the tax advantage of my health insurance. I was diagnosed with blocked arteries and at a time like that was not going to shop around for care. My double bypass cost $78,000. My insurance paid some, Medicare paid some, and I paid some. I was out of work for weeks with no income. My wife, and RN, spends much of her time handling Medicare paperwork instead of patient care. Blaming the consumer is not the answer to the problem.
William G. Schrum
Durham, N.C.
It?s entirely possible that the magazine has edited Mr. Schrum?s comments in a way that has distorted his original message. If not, then his argument is not particularly comprehensible.
The upshot of the letter seems to be that Mortimer Zuckerman was wrong to blame consumers for the nation?s health-care problems. If my assessment is correct, then Mr. Schrum is convicting Zuckerman for a crime he did not commit.
Zuckerman?s statement reflects the basic economics of supply and demand. The less I have to pay for something, the more I?m likely to want of that something. Zuckerman says nothing about the degree to which individual health-care ?customers? will ?consume? more health care, nor does he assign blame to people who respond to economic incentives. He simply states the impact of a health-care arrangement in which those who receive care pay only a fraction of the cost of the care.
Mr. Schrum?s personal story ? while disturbing to any of us who worry about the danger of an expensive, debilitating illness for ourselves or our family members ? does not rebut (or even address) Zuckerman?s point.
Nor would Mr. Schrum?s situation have led to dire financial consequences under a consumer-driven health-care model. With a health savings account and high-deductible insurance policy for catastrophic illness, he would not have been forced to break the bank to pay for the bypass.
More importantly, a consumer-driven model never would lead to a situation in which a government bureaucrat would decide that Mr. Schrum couldn?t get a bypass because the cost would not be worth the benefit to society as a whole.
