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Health Care: What if we treat people like cars?
By Kirsten Stewart / Salt Lake Tribune / Publish Date: 11-5-07

What if health insurance operated more like auto insurance?
    That's what a group of health underwriters would like the Legislature to contemplate as it weighs proposals for reducing Utah's growing ranks of uninsured.
    Their solution deals with the issue indirectly, by targeting what they see as the root of soaring health care costs: the practice of billing insurance companies by procedure.
    That creates a ''perverse incentive for providers to bill as many procedures as possible,'' said Brad Kuhnhausen, a consultant to the Utah Association of Health Underwriters.
    It also hurts patient care, as people shirk follow-up visits and routine checkups to avoid being nickeled and dimed with co-payments, he said.
    But imagine, said Kuhnhausen, filing a claim for a knee surgery like you would a crumpled car. You would get a credit from your insurer, then shop around for a team of providers - a surgeon, anesthesiologist and nursing staff - who agree to charge a lump sum.

In Bid for Better Care, Surgery With a Warranty.
By REED ABELSON Published: May 17, 2007 (View Full Article)

What if medical care came with a 90-day warranty? That is what a hospital group in central Pennsylvania is trying to learn in an experiment that some experts say is a radically new way to encourage hospitals and doctors to provide high-quality care that can avoid costly mistakes.

The group, Geisinger Health System, has overhauled its approach to surgery. And taking a cue from the makers of television sets, washing machines and consumer products, Geisinger essentially guarantees its workmanship, charging a flat fee that includes 90 days of follow-up treatment. Even if a patient suffers complications or has to come back to the hospital, Geisinger promises not to send the insurer another bill.
To cure insurance woes, doctors try prepaid plans By Vanessa Fuhrmans The Wall Street Journal Article Last Updated: 10/27/2007 01:04:31 PM MDT (View Full Article)

WHEELING, W.Va. - Vic Wood's walk-in clinic here sees patients six days a week and logs roughly 15,000 visits a year. Its sparsely furnished waiting room is packed much of the 11-hour day with people seeking care for conditions ranging from sore throats to chest pains. Despite the booming business, Wood and his staff - another doctor and four physician assistants - have battled strong head winds to keep the clinic going. Rising administrative costs and flat insurance-reimbursement rates make it tough to cover basic expenses. One in five patients lack insurance; others are saddled with sky-high deductibles. Last year, Wood even cut his annual salary by half to help keep the clinic afloat.