HCCD Report Ohio 44883

Our Community Health Care Discussion was held in Tiffin, Ohio, at the Sisters of St. Francis Spirituality Center, 200 St. Francis Ave., on Tuesday, December 30, 2008, from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. In attendance were twenty-two people from Seneca County and surrounding communities.

1. Briefly, from your own experience, what do you
perceive is the biggest problem in the health care
system?

- access to health care

- cost of health care

- Insurance companies have too much control over
the care that is given.

- Insurance companies treat patients as liabilities,
not as people.

- Low income community members are not insured,
not getting the care that they need, and not able to pay
bills.

- Insurance company employees are not held to
standardized education and aptitude for assessing
patient needs.

- In some instances, doctors are requiring unnecessary
tests because insurance companies require them.

- The basic approach that insurance companies take
is to make money not to heal / help people.

- Doctors are spending a large quantity of time being
office managers rather than being doctors (collecting
money).

- Employer-based coverage frequently does not
include the entire family.

- Coverage stops too soon - caps on coverage.

- Chart management is extremely time-consuming.
Converting to electronic charts may be helpful.

- Caseloads are large and stressful.

- Frivolous / excessive litigation leads to huge malpractice
insurance costs.

- The burden of worrying about health care coverage
can lead to increased health issues.

- Differences in state laws can create coverage gaps.

- There is a shortage of doctors due to malpractice
insurance and other escalating costs.

- The ER has become the doctor's office for people
without medical coverage.

- Unfortunately, for some doctors, nothing about
the health care system is working. Even with a new
national health care system, it is likely that integrative
medicine to the levels that these doctors practice (ie:
not massage and aromatherapy but high dose vitamin
cocktails and chelation) will not be supported. The
powers that be will continue to persecute integrative
doctors because they are simply a threat to medicine
as we know it. These doctors have all opted out of
all insurance plans and will probably continue to be
outside the system no matter what the system is. Our
Canadian members experience the same thing, and are
not included in the Canadian National Health Plan.

- It should support natural medicines. To the Western
mind "Health Care" is still "Disease Care" and
there is little we can do about it except to start completely
over with a new paradigm.

2. How do you choose a doctor or hospital?

- what the insurance company allows

- Long distance travel is required to see a specialist
approved by the insurance company.

- Control is out of the hands of the patient.

What are your sources of information?

- friends

- family

- word of mouth

- reputation

- internet

- library

- hospitals have community referral programs

- The more in-demand a doctor is, the less likely
that doctor is to receive new patients.

How should public policy promote quality health
care providers?

- Public policy can provide a means to grade /
evaluate health care providers based on cost and performance.

- Public policy can ensure that levels of care are
standardized where appropriate.

- Some insurance companies do not require more
than minimum certification for doctors in their network.

- http://www.dartmouthatlas.org/

- http://www.jointcommission.org/

3. Have you or your family members ever experienced
difficulty in paying medical bills?

- We heard of a second-hand story of someone who
had to sell his/her home in order to qualify for Medicare.

- It can take up to two years to qualify for Medicare
coverage, and that can lead to gaps in coverage.

What do you think policy makers can do to address
this problem?

- Americans need to take personal responsibility for
the changes we seek in the health care industry and
create that change from the bottom up for more widely
accepted reform.

- Perhaps create a Citizens' Health Action Group.

- Policy makers and all Americans should not make
the health care community discussions a one-time
thing. We must not let ourselves become distracted by
petty gossip and focus on the tasks that will improve
peoples' lives.

- Never underestimate the power of a small group of
people.

- Approach health care as a human issue, not a partisan
issue.

4. In addition to employer-based coverage, would
you like the option to purchase a private plan
through an insurance-exchange or a public plan
like Medicare?

-

- We could have a nationalized health care plan as a
back-up during the transition to complete coverage.

- We value having personal choice.

- We want to have coverage for people who need it.

- Larger cities may have longer wait times in nationalized
health care systems.

- People don't like the idea of waiting two years to
receive joint replacement. They want to get it done
and get on with their lives.

5. Do you know how much you or your employer
pays for health insurance?

- There have been exponential cost increases with
reduced coverage. This is occurring in both what the
employer is covering and what the employee is asked
to cover.

- People cannot afford to change jobs because of the
cost of COBRA.

- For municipalities, health care coverage is a huge
part of their operating costs.

What should an employer's role be in a reformed
health care system?

- The ever increasing cost of health care coverage
in the United States is making it extremely difficult
for employers to compete internationally. An example
was cited of the recent decision of Toyota to locate a
new plant in Canada.

- Removing employers from the insurance-providing
business would help with job creation in the
United States.

- Well At Work programs in the workplace are appropriate.

- Mobile Wellness Centers offering dental, flu, diabetes
education, smoking cessation, and other prevention
programs at work would make prevention education
more accessible.

- For small employers, the ability to join a consortium
in order to offer Well At Work or Mobile Wellness
would make those services more affordable.

- Tax incentives should be offered to help offset
costs of wellness programs.

- Incentives for health rather than disincentives.

6. From the examples of the types of preventive
services Americans should receive, have you gotten
the prevention you should have?

- Regarding flu shots, some people are allergic to
egg-based vaccines or have ethical reservations to
egg-based vaccines.

If not, how can public policy help?

- Strong leadership and education can play an
important roll in prevention. What ever happened to
"From the Office of the Surgeon General"?

- Politics need to be removed from public policy on
health care.

- Provide for and promote state level leadership
because the needs of Floridians are different than the
needs of Minnesota residents. (sun care vs. cold care)

- Partner with health care providers at local level.

- Utilize participation in public service programs to
promote healthy lifestyles/fitness.

- Work to promote mental health services - mental
health is not a separate issue. Mental fitness supports
physical fitness.

- Utilize popular public places (grocery store, pharmacy)
for health education/awareness.

- Set standards for preventive care, ie: the age that
mammograms are covered by insurance.

- Doctors should only bill what insurance will cover
since the difference in costs are distributed to the
masses, thus inflating the cost of health care.

7. How can public policy promote healthier lifestyles?

- Education / Prevention go hand in hand.

- Cradle to Grave - mentality - Nationalized health
care providing cradle to grave coverage would offer
the best long-term care.

- Meaningful health care reform at this time can
provide a boost to the economy by removing the enormous
burden of health care coverage from employers.

- Currently, public policy is made for the benefit
of the few. Public policy should be in place for the
greater good of the people.

- Work to promote mental health services

- Dietary and nutrition guidelines should be based on
science rather than the influence of agriculture boards.

- Public policy should incentivize building school
based clinics which would increase chances to educate
communities on preventative care and increase access
to health care.

Questions regarding the content of this
report can be addressed to Bobbie Sue
Grenerth