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ELECTION
IMPACT
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employees to select an insurance product off the exchange of their Creating a system that has as the objective long term strategies
choosing as opposed to the employer’s selection. in improved health, adequate financial savings to manage the in-
creased costs, and aligning the goals and objectives, will go a long
This last suggestion of allowing the health insurance products way in “protecting” the patient from financial harm when access-
to be portable and attach to the employee as opposed to the em- ing healthcare services. This is an idea I can support Trump in re-
ployer is crucial for many reasons. One is that over time, the em- pealing and replacing the failed ACA.
ployer will no longer dictate to an employee that they must be with
insurance company “xyz” when the employee wants to be on the Healthcare services and delivery of such are complicated! Let’s
“abc” plan. Insurance companies will think and act long-term to keep the regulation at the state level and allow the federal govern-
keep the member healthy. They are likely to pay doctors more ment to act as a facilitator by expanding access and financial pro-
money in the form of bonuses for improved outcomes of the mem- tection and not by creating burdens of thousands of pages of
ber as opposed to limiting a doctor’s income to a straight fee-for- restrictions that produce no to little value in a thriving market
service (FFS) model. Doctors should be rewarded for the overall place. The healthcare market place will thrive if we allow a pathway
health outcomes of the patient as opposed to a fragmented com- for consumers to save money in a responsible manner for their first
ponent. Thus, the incentives would be aligned for the employee, dollar coverage and quit micro managing every aspect of health-
the insurance company, and the doctor to all try to improve the care. Healthcare should not be federalized!
health of the patient since the patient is likely to stay longer on
the health plans that perform for the consumer. Right now, it is Alan Preston is the executive director of IntegraNet Health, an IPA
not uncommon for an employer to change their insurance carrier that helps physicians navigate through the difficult regulatory frame-
every three years. Why would the insurance company worry about work and helps them achieve higher reimbursements from insurance
the long-term health of a member if they will not benefit finan- companies.
cially by investing money to improve their health long-term?
22 San Antonio Medicine • January 2017
