How an Empowered Patient Looks at Healthcare Reform
March 30, 2010Since I have spoken and written on healthcare reform topics for almost two years, you can imagine how many folks have asked my opinion on the passage of the new law. While I’m not going to share my opinion here, I will tell you that I waver between believing that the new law has gone either too far – or not far enough.
Of course, most of the dissention about reform is related to money. But make no mistake; reform of the financial aspects of healthcare will have a significant impact on the quality of the care we receive, too. That makes it more important than ever that we empower ourselves to take charge of our care.
Some examples:
• 30 million newly insured people will begin seeing doctors and populating hospital beds. Unfortunately there won’t be enough providers to take care of them all. As smart patients we’ll take the steps needed – now -- to establish a primary care relationship, plus a relationship with a specialist for chronic conditions. In a few years, that may become impossible as medical practices reach a saturation point and doctors stop taking new patients.
• The new law says insurers won’t be able to deny care for pre-existing conditions or drop coverage if someone gets sick. But the law also stipulates “as long as the policy holder pays their premium in full.” So don’t suddenly drop your health insurance or fail to pay your premiums today, thinking you’ll be able to sign up again in a few years anyway. It’s possible that violating an agreement with an insurer today could result in a reason to drop your coverage in the future.
• Watch for dueling forces in the tests and procedures aspects of your care. The new law doesn’t address tort reform, so your doctor may continue to order unnecessary tests for defensive medicine reasons, or may suggest expensive procedures for reimbursement reasons, even if there are less costly alternatives.
Payers, on the other hand, will increase their rationing efforts in order to save more money. These two forces may actually balance themselves out, but we smart patients will infuse ourselves into personal decision-making about tests and procedures to determine whether tests and procedures are necessary for our care.
Over the next several years, healthcare reform will cause a great deal of confusion and frustration. But in the long term, it will mean a healthier American population.
As smart patients, it will be even more important for us to be sure we are individually getting the care we deserve, too. | 
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Trisha Torrey
is the author of
You Bet Your Life!
The 10 Mistakes
Every Patient Makes
(How to Fix Them
to Get the
Health Care You Deserve)
It expands on the articles found
on this site, providing an
exposé of the problems that
exist in the healthcare system,
and tools you can use to get the care you deserve.
....
Learn more about
You Bet Your Life!
........................
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