One of the things that struck me after taking a quick look at Senator Baucus’s health reform bill is that it doesn’t seem to contain a lot of detail around cost control. Obviously one of the most discussed issues in the entire reform debate is that of containing costs. For many people, the “cost of health care” simply means the amount of money consumers pay for insurance. Their reasoning is that the best way to control the price of insurance premiums is to implement a government-run insurer or a single payer system. 

While this theory is logical, it’s not very plausible. Simply by virtue of the fact that a single insurer could set rates and fees at whatever levels it chooses, insurance rates would in fact go down in the short term. But they won’t stay down unless we address the most problematic costs in the health care system which are those associated with care itself – the expense of tests, medications, hospitalization, procedures, devices and so on. It’s really our insatiable demand for health care services, drugs and devices – paid for by “other people’s money” – that creates the inexorable climb in health care costs. This is where the real cost is and the primary reason insurance rates have gotten so high in the first place. We must each focus more on wellness. Healthier consumers require less health care which, obviously, saves money. Regulation also plays into the equation. If we revise medical malpractice laws so that physicians aren’t overusing tests and treatment methods simply to avoid being sued, we can save millions.

These are just a few examples; there are myriad other factors that contribute to the rising cost of health care and this where we need to focus our attention in order to legitimately change the system. It’s not simply a matter of what we pay for coverage. It’s far more complex than that. Attempting to simply lower the cost of insurance is a band aid for an ailment that requires major reconstructive surgery.