SetupLinux

Being a IT guy and programmer I tend to come at problems the same way as when I develop.  Because of my job I’m always evaluating technologies, code, libraries, architectures, hardware, etc.  It’s never ending, but that’s what I love about IT.   I’ve learned to keep a open mind as well as look at the big picture.  What I’ve noticed over time is IT pro’s that have been doing this a long time tend to go about things the same way.

The approach seems obvious when your looking for software, architecture, or development libraries and tools.  But it takes a different spin when you look at something like health care.  If you can take emotion out of a decision it’s alot easier, but even in technology that can be hard.   Mac Zealots of old, Windows lackeys, Linux purists.  And if you want to get real heated talk to a programmer and tell them their editor sucks.

So to try and boil it down to something very simple here is the current problems.

• Health care is too expensive
• Health care denies or won’t cover items

I know for me and my family to buy insurance privately it’s above $1500/mon.  At least the last time I checked.  I work for a small company (under 10 employees).  My company pays around $800-$1000/mon for each employee, plus $300 a month from me for my family plan.  I don’t think health care should cost the same as my house.

Admittedly,  health care for a young single guy is a lot cheaper.   But I’m married, have kids and in my family we have the ultimate red flag called a “pre-existing condition”.  In insurance speak that means I’m likely to actually need to use the insurance for something.  Which means they will charge quite a bit more for my family.

Given that you do have coverage, we’ve noticed we have to fight with insurance constantly.  For example, my daughter going to a doctors office will get that visit denied depending on what she’s seeing that doctor for.  So we get lots of bills from things we though were supposed to be paid but for whatever reason are not.  Sometimes fighting insurance gets them paid, but regardless it’s a big waste of time and painful to deal with.

We’ve found it a necessity to actually read through the entire medical claims book from our insurance carrier.  It’s a mess, it contradicts itself.  One page something is covered, another it is remove.  Others depend on getting reviewed, or who you happen to talk to one day on the phone at the insurance company.  It’s a little like trying to code HTML for Internet Explorer.  Something is supposed to work but doesn’t, does something unexpected, or just plain doesn’t follow a standard.

There are also things that should be covered that are not because they are considered too expensive.  Things like mental health, dental, vision, rehabilitation, surgery, etc.   To me that’s like saying I only code for Windows XP, we don’t support Windows 7, Linux or Mac.

Current Health Care Bill that passed today

I’m not big into politics.  But from what I’ve read into this bill it will allow me as a individual or my employer as a small business to buy into larger plans.  This makes it cheaper for me and my employer.  So I think that’s great.

I also like that insurances won’t be able to drop me or my children if we get sick.  There will also be a list of things you can’t be denied for or sickness that you don’t get a cap on spending.

My work offers insurance, but a lot of other small companies like mine don’t.  This bill would force employers to offer insurance to employees.  So I think that’s a good thing to at least have the choice.

Concerns and Questions

It sounds great so far.  But I wonder about a few things as well.   What will things actually cost for me?  It’s impossible to know, but I wonder how much things will change.  Will I be able to buy Medicare if I can’t find a private insurance I like?  What type of coverage will the government enforce?

Overall I think it’s a step, people of course argue it’s a step in the wrong direction.  But I think it’s better than not taking any step at all.  But if anybody knows of something like a simple “Software Spec” that would outline all the specifics of what this bill would do I would love to read it.  It’s insane trying to filter through all the crap the news puts out and find anything useful.