The $5 Trillion Question: Why Does Healthcare Cost So Much?
I saw this article in our local business journal:
Blue Cross NC CEO: The $5 trillion question — Why does health care cost so much?
I couldn’t look away. I had to read it, even if my head was going to explode.
Just the title and author alone were enough for me to roll my eyes.
I wanted to call bulls- – – right away.
No way is BCBS a true “non-profit.”
No way do they operate on 13 cents of every paid premium dollar.
But I read on…
The CEO of BCBS of NC was kind enough to explain to all the readers that the answer to why HC is so expensive was for several reasons:
*Lack of transparency
*Mal-aligned incentives.
*A fragmented system
*Legislation/regulation
Ohh~ I get it.
He must mean the fact that no one covered by BCBS knows what their final bill will be until months after their procedure. That is a lack of transparency.
He must mean the BCBS incentives to keep patients from getting the care they need with unnecessary prior authorizations and narrow Rx drug formularies.
He must mean the fragmentation patients feel having to chose a new primary care doctor every year, or go to a different health system when their plan changes.
And finally, I’m sure he is talking about the insurance backed ACA.
As I finished the article, I realized Dr Sotunde asked the wrong question. It’s not “Why Does Healthcare Cost So Much?”
But instead, it should be “Why Does Healthcare WITH BCBS Cost So Much?!”
Do yourself a favor~
Find a DPC doctor who can make healthcare affordable and simple.
Dr. Walsh, indeed, you are right…BCBSNC is NOT a non-profit. I was one of the only people trying to shine a light on the march of BCBSNC to create a shell company to hide its agenda back in 2023. I recorded this podcast with NC Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey and Chris Deacon. I invited Chris to join this discussion because she watched the same thing happen in her state of NJ and offered her expert opinion as the director of the 820,000-member NJ State Health Plan. Here’s the link to our podcast from way back then — https://www.custombenefits.work/news/2022/8/27/mfb2mk0ta5q7e9o4tm2it2dleo986h-ce78m
I am on pins and needles waiting for Part II of the Two part series
In my next piece, I will outline what I believe is health care’s reckoning, how I believe Blue Cross NC must act and how we must all work together. North Carolina is filled with people who show up in hard moments. This is a hard moment, and we owe it to all North Carolinians to get this right.