Patients Demand More From Politicians
With the election fast approaching, it’s clear that Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are leaving an entire group of voters up for grabs. Neither candidate has really delivered on healthcare policy while millions of U.S. patients are looking for solutions that actually address the lack of price transparency and the astronomical cost of our healthcare.
Voter demand for price transparency in healthcare grows louder by the day. Less than one in five Americans know the cost of their healthcare products or services before receiving them and over 90% of voters want this issue addressed in the next election cycle. Though previous attempts have been made to mandate consistent pricing, any consumer in our healthcare system will tell you there is still a general lack of transparency.
The lack of price transparency certainly seems intentional as insurance companies funnel healthcare dollars away from reimbursement for actual healthcare. Instead, they divert these funds toward administrative costs and bureaucracy, with insurance companies vertically integrating the medical system for as much money as possible.
More than transparency, patients want lower costs for their healthcare, medicines, and doctor’s visits. Healthcare expenses are skyrocketing, totaling $4.5 trillion in 2022. Nearly 3 in 4 adults are worried about rising healthcare costs and over 25% of adults put off seeking medical care because of the cost. Even more evidence that Americans are planning their lives around the astronomical cost of care is that medical debt is now the leading cause of individual bankruptcy in our country.
Even with all of these expenses, a recently published report shows the US dead last in healthcare outcomes and quality compared to 9 other developed countries despite US healthcare spending far outstripping spending in those same countries. Clearly, there is money being lost to countless middlemen at the expense of actual patient care.
U.S. patients need focused efforts from lawmakers on relevant issues, and this election cycle is the perfect time to give them one. Lawmakers across the aisle should pursue health policies that stop lining the pockets of insurance companies and instead give both agency and funding back to patients and to the professionals actually providing services to those patients.
Direct Primary Care (DPC) is an excellent grassroots example of the types of changes voters are demanding. DPC restores agency to patients and doctors alike, reduces healthcare costs, increases quality of care and patient satisfaction. Primary care providers under this model don’t seek compensation from insurance plans and instead provide upfront pricing for patients in their area. Patients are free to pick a doctor they like and purchase services from them directly instead of through a middleman insurer. It’s a win-win for providers and patients.
In order to promote price transparency and reduce costs, Washington should look to enact policies that protect movements like Direct Primary Care. They should continue to expand this approach that reduces the input of middlemen and thus cuts their administrative costs to the system in other areas, such as regulating PBMs.
Lawmakers should also protect the beneficial portions of existing healthcare policies: promoting telehealth, expanding Health Savings Accounts, requiring insurers to pay for preventive care like Pap smears and colonoscopies, and protecting patients with pre-existing conditions. These should be the top priority for Congress and the White House this next legislative session. .
Likewise, lawmakers should look to remove the red tape preventing patients from getting the healthcare they need. Certificate-of-need laws and laws preventing nurses from delivering care across state lines should be repealed without delay.
As we head into November and Americans exercise their constitutional right to vote, we must hold our elected officials accountable. They must deliver health policies that address the most vital issues to us and our loved ones. Lives are at stake.
Dr. Travis Simmons is a board-certified family physician in New Braunfels, Texas, where he practices primary care in a Direct Primary Care model. He is passionate about thorough, high-quality primary care, improving access, and providing price transparency for patients.
