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Las Vegas Business Press: Here's a prescription: A health insurers code of ethics
By Chuck Muth
In the never-ending debate about national health care, the most common refrain is "our health care system is broken." That is immediately followed by never-ending government solutions to "fix" said system at an estimated cost of trillions of dollars. Rarely mentioned in these expensive, government-knows-best debates, however, is any discussion of free-market, nonlegislative solutions to the problem.
Right now the insurance industry is the only part of the health care system that doesn't have to abide by any code of conduct or ethics. And, as many of us who have dealt with health insurers can attest, it shows.
So the best prescription for what ails the health care system today would be a better-informed consumer. And consumers have a new champion in that regard in the form of a new group called the Alliance for Patient Access (http://www.allianceforpatientaccess.org), "a national network of physicians with the shared mission of ensuring and protecting patient access to approved medical treatments and therapies including prescription pharmaceuticals, biologics, and medical devices."
The group is circulating an online petition encouraging the American Medical Association (AMA) "to expeditiously develop the Health Insurer Code of Conduct and call upon health plans to voluntarily adopt the Code of Conduct" when it meets later this fall.
Quite simply, this code, as is being proposed and introduced by the New York delegation at the upcoming AMA convention, "would benefit patients, physicians, and other health care providers by challenging health plans to modify their restrictive practices without the need for legislative or judicial intervention. Also, the code would "provide consumers with an additional tool for comparing health plans during enrollment periods."
No more waiting until after you get sick to find out exactly what your costs will be.
No more finding out after you go to the drugstore for your medications that your prescription isn't covered.
No more paying for top-quality coverage and finding a top-quality doctor only to learn later that your insurance company will only pay for the treatment some bureaucrat at the health insurance company thinks you need.
And no more operating in the dark about what secret deals your insurer may have worked out with your doctors and hospitals regarding your care, deals that give bonuses to doctors if you don't get certain tests or are prescribed brand-name drugs.
These deals are reportedly far more common than the public knows. The same doctor you are paying to give you the best treatment, and the same insurer that you are paying to make sure that you have access to the best treatment, often have undisclosed agreements that give the doctor bonuses if the doctor saves the insurance company money.
And maybe, to be fair, these deals do help keep your premiums down. Nothing wrong with that. Keeping costs down means more of us can afford to buy our own health care instead of having a "government option" forced down our throats at costs which could bankrupt our country.
But shouldn't you, the patient, know about any such arrangements beforehand so you can make a fully-informed decision?
That's exactly what the Health Insurer Code of Conduct is all about. Nothing in the code prohibits insurers from working to reduce costs though all available means. It simply requires full and honest disclosure.
Nothing spurs competition more than letting consumers shop for the best buy for the buck. This is a simple formula that works well in our capitalistic system. Informed consumers with viable choices result in a more cost-effective system. Inject greater transparency into the health care system and we all benefit.
So let it be written; so let it be done.
Chuck Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, a nonprofit public policy grass-roots advocacy organization. He can be reached at chuck@citizenoutreach.com.
READ THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE
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All News Items
August 26, 2010 - The Lund Report: The Best Care Possible: You're Worth It
June 14, 2010 - American Medical News: 10 things health insurers must do to regain trust; The AMA, with endorsement from 68 state and medical specialty societies, outlines steps health plans must take to be credible in the eyes of physicians and patients.
February 27, 2010 - Providence Journal: The creepy third person in doctor’s exam room
November 28, 2009 - Newport News Daily Press: MDs under attack
November 04, 2009 - The Hill: A code of conduct for health insurers
October 27, 2009 - WCBU-FM 89.9 (Peoria, Ill.) radio news
October 26, 2009 - WEEK (NBC - Peoria, Ill.): Developing a doctor-patient relationship
October 12, 2009 - Las Vegas Business Press: Here's a prescription: A health insurers code of ethics
September 09, 2009 - Maryland State Medical Society Resolution 14-09
August 29, 2009 - The Island Packet: AMA code puts doctors, patients in charge of care
August 28, 2009 - Baltimore Times: Group calls on health insurers
August 27, 2009 - Baltimore Times: Nursing Maryland back to health
August 20, 2009 - Lincoln Journal-Star: Pharmacists forced to serve insurers rather than patients
August 19, 2009 - WSTM-NBC3: Prescription medication battle heats up in Central New York
August 17, 2009 - New York State Senator Jeffrey D. Klein blog: For Health or Profit? Klein Unveils Sickly Scorecard of Major HMOs
August 17, 2009 - New York Daily News: Prescription Prescription drug coverage marred by bureaucracy, survey says
August 13, 2009 - Leading African American Groups Call On Health Insurers to Dismiss Restrictive Practices
August 13, 2009 - San Diego Union-Tribune: Bureaucracy won't contain costs
August 01, 2009 - Huntington, W.V. Herald-Dispatch: Insurers put stress on the physician-patient relationship
July 21, 2009 - Chicago Tribune: They authorized back surgery but denied his $148,000 claim
July 17, 2009 - American Osteopathic Association calls for Development of Code of Conduct
July 12, 2009 - Houston Chronicle: Another kind of remedy for the sick; Code of conduct would protect patients
July 07, 2009 - Washington Post: Health Reform: Who Holds the Reins on Care?
July 06, 2009 - NATIONAL HEALTH INSURER CODE OF CONDUCT HITS 1000 SIGNATURES OF SUPPORT
June 30, 2009 - Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Code of conduct needed for health insurers, too
June 24, 2009 - Penn. Pharmacists Association: “A Patient Walks Up to the Counter …”
June 24, 2009 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Broken bonds; The physician-patient relationship is being destroyed by the cost-driven decisions of health insurers
June 09, 2009 - Bellingham (Wash.) Herald: Time for a health insurance code of conduct
June 08, 2009 - Mississippi Business Journal: Transparency is the best medicine; Health Insurer Code of Conduct may improve the quality of care
June 03, 2009 - Frederick (Md.) News Post Op-Ed: Pharmacists pawns in health care's game of chess
June 01, 2009 - KUSI-TV interview with Dr. Jack Schim
May 25, 2009 - San Francisco Chronicle: Doctor pushes back against insurer scrutiny
May 08, 2009 - Fox News Health Blog: Bad Medicine: Is Your Insurance Company Hazardous to Your Health?
April 27, 2009 - Petition for Health Insurer Code of Conduct Garners Widespread National Support
April 20, 2009 - On-line petition launched in support of a national health insurer code of conduct
April 13, 2009 - Petition launched in support of a national health insurer code of conduct
April 09, 2009 - Westchester (N.Y.) Herald letters: Access to Quality Healthcare
April 01, 2009 - Los Angeles Society of Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology Applauds the AMA for Developing Health Insurer Code of Conduct
March 24, 2009 - Arizona Republic: Patient care, not financial gain, must take priority
March 22, 2009 - Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle: Health insurers should agree to a code of conduct
March 20, 2009 - Buffalo News: Code of conduct would protect patients from insurers
March 10, 2009 - AfPA Launches Petition in Support of a National Health Insurer Code of Conduct
March 09, 2009 - Texas Medical Society: Health Insurance Code of Conduct Act of 2009; The Time Has Come
March 09, 2009 - American Medical News: MSSNY president: Insurer settlements highlight need for code of conduct
February 01, 2009 - Colorado Medicine: Health Insurer Code of Conduct?
January 24, 2009 - Fresno Bee: Doctors push code of conduct for insurers
December 10, 2008 - Lupus Agencies of New York State Applaud AMA's Resolution to Develop a "Code of Conduct" for Health Insurers
December 09, 2008 - New York State Rheumatology Society Position Paper: AMA Resolution 823
November 20, 2008 - National Minority Quality Forum Applauds AMA's Health Insurer Code of Conduct
November 14, 2008 - Alliance for Patient Access Applauds AMA's Health Insurer Code of Conduct
November 13, 2008 - Alliance for Better Medicine Calls on California Health Insurers to Adopt a "Code of Conduct"
November 13, 2008 - Los Angeles County Medical Association Reinforces AMA's Call for a Health Insurer Code of Conduct
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