What is organized crime? The dictionary defines it as a
means of generating income through bribery and threats of grievous retribution,
often buying political patronage for immunity from exposure and prosecution.
Perpetrators of organized crime typically use credible front organizations,
such as hospitals and charities. These establishments do not tolerate
competition and constantly fight for monopolization, or “market share.” When
organized crime is involved, goods and services cost more.
So how does this apply to our current medical care delivery
“system?” Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, there is a concerted
effort to put everyone into a highly organized “insurance plan,” despite the
fact that the plan costs far more than the free market would dictate. The
overpricing ensures a steady flow of revenue to be siphoned off to the
administrators and government officials. Campaign or “foundation” coffers are
regularly subsidized to ensure favorable treatment by elected officials. And
the people pay a huge price for poorer access and diminished quality.
Insurance companies claim to provide “protection” against
financial ruin by selling a card that promises access to high quality care
whenever it is needed. But the protection is illusion, as the purported savings
are often fictitious.
Here are two real-life examples:
A patient with
insurance had four lab tests performed at an outpatient hospital lab with the
amount billed at $732. The insurance company brought that amount to $328. The
lab deductible (out-of-pocket by the patient) came to $200, and insurance paid
$128. Most patients would not question the original sum and would feel secure
knowing that their insurer protected them from financial ruin by taking more
than half off the original price. But the hidden truth is that the whole system
is a scam perpetrated by insurance companies and hospitals. These very same lab
tests, when done for cash at a local lab, can be obtained for a total of $57.
Insurance encourages over-pricing.
Another savvy
patient learned that telling an urgent care center that she has insurance is a
sure way to pay more. She went for a minor ailment, produced her insurance card
and was told that she should just pay the $20 co-pay, getting the final bill in
the near future. She argued that her insurance deductible, or money she would
be expected to pay out of pocket before insurance paid anything, was $5,000, so
she would be happy to settle the entire bill right away. But the clerk just
smiled and said that this is not how things are done. Soon after, the same
patient’s insurance was canceled, and when she needed care, she went back to
the same establishment, as she liked the doctor. This time, her bill was $120,
but she was told she owed $180 for the prior visit. “Wait! If the fee is $120
and I already paid $20, it seems I should only owe $100.” It was carefully
explained that the insurance company and urgent care center had negotiated $200
for a routine visit and that the $180 she owed was not a mistake. But they feel
sorry for people without insurance, so are willing to accept the lower fee of
$120 from the uninsured.
Most people trust that, once they have paid the premium,
which approaches the level of a home mortgage, their insurance company is there
to secure the best deal for them. But this is simply not the case. The
insurance-medical-industrial complex falls into the category of “organized
crime” when they can extract more than the market price for goods or services.
In both of these examples, the insurance company and service
provider each benefited at the expense of the person ultimately paying the
bills – through higher negotiated fees or higher insurance premiums. The
hospital was looking at $200 extra while the urgent care facility was planning
to pocket an extra $80. Multiply this by millions of transactions, and our
health-care system is costing billions of dollars more than it should.
The Affordable Care Act requires that all citizens purchase
overpriced government-approved “insurance,” and this only perpetuates and
expands the fraud. It explains why the premiums and deductibles have risen.
Having taxpayers subsidize these overpriced plans assures that the palms of
many “organized crime participants” are continually greased.
Dr Alieta
Eck was the 2014 Republican candidate for U.S. Congress in New Jersey’s 12th
District. She has been in private practice with her husband, Dr. John Eck,
M.D., in Piscataway, New Jersey, since 1988 and has been involved in
health-care reform since residency. She is convinced that the government is a
poor provider of medical care. Dr. Eck, a member of the AAPS, and her husband founded the
Zarephath Health Center, a free clinic for the poor and uninsured that
currently cares for 300-400 patients per month utilizing the donated services
of volunteer physicians and nurses in New Jersey.
Source:http://www.wnd.com/2015/07/our-medical-delivery-system-organized-crime/
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