by
Thomas Cox PhD, RN
Thomas Cox PhD RN
nurse
Standard Errors: Our Failing Health Care (Finance) Systems and How to Fix Them is a book about health insurance and health care finance mechanisms.
Using detailed statistical, financial, economic and risk theoretic explanations, Standard Error shows how the mismanagement of risk costs every American more, limits access to care for all Americans, and costs hundreds of billions of dollars every year.
Some random thoughts on Health Care Finance policy:
Why won't individual health savings accounts work?
Insurance works because insurers combine the claims of many different people. All of us are exposed to the risk that we will have high health expenses every year. Standing on our own, we would all have to set aside very large sums of money to be prepared to pay for the care we might need. Even a short hospital stay, 2 - 3 days, could easily cost $25,000 in uncovered expenses.
Can you afford to set aside $25,000? Can every American afford to set aside $25,000?
Imagine what that would take. If all 325,000,000 Americans (2017 estimated US population) had to set aside $25,000. We would sideline $8,125,000,000,000 from our economy. That is $8.125 TRILLION!
Setting aside this much money, especially in highly liquid, low yield investments, would cripple our economy.
Worse still, in their lifetimes, only a tiny fraction of Americans would need these funds and for most this need would be decades in the future. Most people would never use these funds. Instead of being sidelined, that money could have been used to secure a higher standard of living.
If Americans don't have to sideline that $8 TRILLION they can use it to pursue their educations, enjoy more leisure time, or improve their housing.
So, self funding health care is futile. Most Americans cannot afford to set aside that much money, and in a severe health crisis, $25,000 would not cover the costs of extended hospital, physician, nursing home or home health agency care.
Thomas Cox PhD RN is a nurse, mathematician, statistician, social worker, chartered property casualty underwriter and licensed health care risk manager with extensive experience in insurance rate making and reserving, health care planning, research and delivery.
"Standard Errors: Our Failing Health Care (Finance) Systems And How To Fix Them" Second Edition, was released in September, 2012. I am currently (as of 7/25/2017) working on the third edition.
Contact Information
Email: nurse.statistician@yahoo.com
Standard Errors: Our Failing Health Care (Finance) Systems and How to Fix Them is a book about health insurance and health care finance mechanisms.
I provide educational and consulting services in risk assessment, risk management, financial analysis and quality improvement for health and allied health care professionals and facilities, academic institutions, attorneys and consumers.
Copyright 2017 Thomas Cox PhD. All rights reserved.
Thomas Cox PhD RN
nurse