We need consistency, transparency and humanity in our healthcare system

Imagine taking a can of Pringles to the checkout counter. You ask the cashier how much you owe, and they start talking to you like you’re crazy: “I can’t tell you how much those Pringles are. You have to open them up and start eating them. It could be free. It could be a thousand dollars.” 

At this point, you’d probably drop the Pringles and walk away. You can do that with Pringles. You can’t do that with healthcare. Hospitals make money by charging you for procedures.  Insurance companies make money by not paying for those procedures.  You, your doctors, and your nurses are caught in the middle.

Two years ago, I had some pain in my leg. I have a condition called Hereditary Multiple Exostosis—a fancy way to say some of my bones grow in the wrong direction. It makes me a little shorter, and at points, it makes me achy, but I’m mostly fine. I went to a specialist because I was feeling a little achy. She told me I needed to get a quick X-Ray. I went downstairs, got that done, and nothing serious came up. I was relieved. 

A month later, my jaw dropped when I saw an $800 bill that my insurance company refused to cover.  Like many of you, I can recount dozens of examples of my hospital or insurance company “accidentally” charging us twice. I’ve repeatedly waited weeks to hear back about whether a procedure is covered as the appointment got closer.  And I’ve been in situations where no one can tell me which doctors within the same system are or aren’t covered. It’s maddening. 

Here are the basics of a better plan:

1. A single-payer system. We have the most expensive and frustrating health care system in the world. How bad is it? When my parents have had complex health issues, they’ve flown back to Iran to get them resolved. 

Should that happen in the greatest country in the world? No. Why does it happen? Unlike most products, health care gets cheaper and more efficient when more people are in the same risk pool. 

When everyone is covered in one system, that system has a financial incentive to keep people healthy — because preventing diabetes, heart disease, and cancer is far cheaper than treating them later. 

Countries like Canada, the United Kingdom, and Taiwan use universal single-payer or national health systems and spend far less per person than the U.S., while achieving longer life expectancy and lower rates of preventable deaths.

2. Transparency in that system. Nobody should be forced to take off work to be on the phone with an insurance company for days to figure out whether a procedure is covered or not. A non-partisan group of patients and medical professionals should craft a more transparent system that includes clear answers about how much services cost. That way, everybody knows what they’re on the hook for when they go see their doctor. 

3. Supplemental insurance markets for areas that single-payer insurance doesn’t cover. However good a single-payer system may be, we’re all different, and it cannot meet every need.  We should support a supplemental  insurance market, so people can opt into paying more for plans that cover certain care they find more important, such as diet drugs or more frequent screenings for a specific disease. 

Every time you’re on the phone with the insurance company for hours and every time you get large, unexpected bills, remember these experiences are not accidents. Our healthcare system is working exactly as it’s meant to, but it’s working to make someone else rich, rather than make you healthy. 

It doesn’t have to be that way. When I get to D.C., I’ll make decisions that benefit you.