So the U.S. healthcare system has some issues. Something needs to change. But what?

I’m pretty lucky as far as insurance and health issues go. I’ve always had great insurance policies through work or parents or husband, and I don’t have any major health issues.

The whole system seems crazy and crooked to an uninitiated person like me, though. For instance, a couple of months ago my insurance company sent me an explanation of benefits regarding my hospital stay around Ian’s birth. The hospital sent the insurance company a bill for $20,000 in “hospital incidentals.” That’s all the EOB said. Hospital incidentals. The insurance company agreed to pay $6,000, and apparently the hospital was satisfied with that.

Wait, what? The hospital took $14,000 less than what they requested? If someone didn’t have insurance, would they have had to pay the whole $20,000, since they wouldn’t have the bargaining power of the insurance company? Or did the hospital just inflate the numbers to make sure they got the money they wanted, in some sort of paperwork version of a flea market negotiation?

And then there’s the fact that so many of my friends have limited insurance options due to pre-existing conditions. A diagnosis of a chronic illness means that these people quake at the thought of a job loss, which would mean loss of insurance coverage or a COBRA policy that costs hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars.

If you want to have a baby? Don’t even think about it unless you have a nice, cozy group insurance policy. Well, you can eventually, as long as you sit out the year waiting period. They made it a year in case you decide to let the baby gestate longer JUST TO SWINDLE THE INSURANCE COMPANY.

Plus there’s the folks who don’t bother with insurance or can’t afford it and end up at the emergency room because a) it’s the only place that will treat them or b) they let a small problem go untreated and now it’s a big problem. I don’t care if it’s their fault and they should have had insurance and blah blah blah — as humans, they still deserve treatment, and taxpayers still pay for it.

So things need to be fixed. And I have no idea what needs to happen. Universal health care? Mandatory health care that we can choose, like car insurance? (Although the choice to live isn’t exactly like the choice to drive.) More competition among insurance companies? The libertarian Christian in me says the church should be providing health care to those who can’t afford it, but that’s not particularly realistic. The bleeding heart socialist in me says we should pay for everything for everybody!!!!111!!! (I’m a very confused girl.)

So what do you think? Do you know the solution? Leave me thoughts and links in the comments, but PLEASE play nice. I know this is an emotional topic for some of you.

Oh, and here’s thoughts from some other friends:
-Nancy at Life with Our Itty Bitty Baby Girl
-Kat at Just Another Pretty Farce — Kat has several posts on healthcare, so just browse her blog
-Sarah linked to this article on Facebook, so she gets included