• Current health care finance system of private health insurers shifts cost and risk to consumers, health care providers and government thus restricting patient access.
• Patient access is adversely affected through restrictive coverage rules, high deductibles and premiums, provider choice limitations, and drug formulary constraints.
• Demographic of the “uninsured” population is broadening to include higher income workers secondary to decreased availability of affordable comprehensive coverage.
• The current private health insurance system transfers the cost of caring for the uninsured to physicians and other health care providers.
• Current health care system is administratively inefficient wasting up to an estimated $400 billion annually on paperwork associated with approval and processing of claims.
• Processing of claims submitted for care provider reimbursement are purposely complex, resulting in lost reimbursement for physicians and other care providers.
• Health Care Rationing…Loss of decision-making power for physicians and other health care providers secondary to restrictions on care permitted by private insurers.
• Medicine is becoming less attractive professionally and financially as a career choice, leading to shortages in key disciplines such as General, Neurological, Trauma surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology.
• Medical Malpractice insurance costs are contributory.
• Health care costs are become greater, secondary to economically oriented delays in seeking treatment, resulting in increased morbidity and mortality as well as costs of treatment.
• Increased health care costs secondary to untreated dental pathology e.g., sepsis and cardiomyopathy.
• Access to prescription drugs is impaired via economic rationing at all age groups.
• Increased morbidity and mortality of lower, and now lower-middle income demographic groups, disproportionately adversely affecting the quality and length of life of the less affluent in America .

John Russell, MS/ARNP (Acute Care), MBA, Health Systems Management