The #1 Problem With Our Health Care Future
No, it is not the massive increase in ACA premiums for those who must buy on the individual market. Nor is it the similar increase in deductibles and copays for the health insurance that the 80% of us who get coverage through our jobs must face.
No, it is not the consolidation of the industry, where a handful of companies control our options. Nor, is it the immoral increases in life-saving drug costs.
No, it is not the inability of our political "leaders" to arrive at a solution that works for those in need. Heavens, they refuse to even talk with each other, preferring threats and slurs instead. Nor is it the slow acceptance by most of us that our health is primarily dependent on choices we make in diet, exercise, and lifestyle.
The Number One problem with our health care future is.....uncertainty.
Retirement is a period in our lives when we welcome many changes, new opportunities, new directions, a new sense of the possible. We take back control of the clock, our schedule. But, what we don't want is uncertainty. And, there is a big difference between change and being unsure.
The difference is the source. Change is usually initiated by us. Except for obvious things like a health problem or financial reversal, most of what we do during our retirement is to choose...choose what to do with our time, our talents, our resources. We choose to live closer to family, or farther away! We choose when and where to go on vacation. We choose what makes it on our calendar.
Uncertainty is change without choice. We can't plan very well when we don't know what is around the corner. Obamacare will be repealed. It will be replaced by something that has yet to be defined as workable for those most in need.
So, will my wife start with her new insurance company in January, only to find the system that supports it taken away shortly thereafter? Do we budget for thousands of dollars a month in coverage? Or do we decide to roll the dice and self insure until 65 (assuming Medicare isn't next on the chopping block)?
Will health insurance companies continue to group together, leaving virtually no real choice for customers? Even now Betty cannot get a referral to a specialist in network that isn't more than 50 miles away, has English listed as a third language, and is booked up for 4 months.
With the stunning election results still reverberating around the world, any hope we had for less uncertainty in our health care situation has been shattered. The only certainty we can count on is things are going to get a whole lot more unsure for as far as we care to gaze into the future.
No, it is not the consolidation of the industry, where a handful of companies control our options. Nor, is it the immoral increases in life-saving drug costs.
No, it is not the inability of our political "leaders" to arrive at a solution that works for those in need. Heavens, they refuse to even talk with each other, preferring threats and slurs instead. Nor is it the slow acceptance by most of us that our health is primarily dependent on choices we make in diet, exercise, and lifestyle.
The Number One problem with our health care future is.....uncertainty.
Retirement is a period in our lives when we welcome many changes, new opportunities, new directions, a new sense of the possible. We take back control of the clock, our schedule. But, what we don't want is uncertainty. And, there is a big difference between change and being unsure.
The difference is the source. Change is usually initiated by us. Except for obvious things like a health problem or financial reversal, most of what we do during our retirement is to choose...choose what to do with our time, our talents, our resources. We choose to live closer to family, or farther away! We choose when and where to go on vacation. We choose what makes it on our calendar.
Uncertainty is change without choice. We can't plan very well when we don't know what is around the corner. Obamacare will be repealed. It will be replaced by something that has yet to be defined as workable for those most in need.
So, will my wife start with her new insurance company in January, only to find the system that supports it taken away shortly thereafter? Do we budget for thousands of dollars a month in coverage? Or do we decide to roll the dice and self insure until 65 (assuming Medicare isn't next on the chopping block)?
Will health insurance companies continue to group together, leaving virtually no real choice for customers? Even now Betty cannot get a referral to a specialist in network that isn't more than 50 miles away, has English listed as a third language, and is booked up for 4 months.
With the stunning election results still reverberating around the world, any hope we had for less uncertainty in our health care situation has been shattered. The only certainty we can count on is things are going to get a whole lot more unsure for as far as we care to gaze into the future.
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