Sure, government has an important role to play in public health. But to paraphrase Ronald Reagan, we’re firm believers in the principle that the government that governs best governs least. Unfortunately that is not always the case, but health sharing organizations are helping with public health.
Health Sharing Organizations
This is as true of healthcare as it is of all other industries: As direct or indirect government control of the healthcare and health insurance industries continues to expand, the power of impersonal Congressional or state legislature-driven policies, and unelected bureaucrats to erode our freedoms and disrupt our access to care or subvert our interests to political considerations becomes more pervasive and more dangerous.
Today, more than 43% of Americans are enrolled in federally-funded health insurance programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance program, according to the Heritage Foundation. That’s more than 143 million people, representing about 45% of total healthcare spending in the U.S. and growing, while private sector spending is slated to shrink in the coming years.
This gives government an inordinate amount of power over individual healthcare decisions – and we’ve already seen how they are willing to abuse it.
For example: The imposition of numerous politically appealing mandates on what insurance plans are required to cover drive up the cost of premiums, making insurance less affordable. Gender reassignment surgery, for instance, typically costs anywhere from $30,000 to $100,000 and up, and requires expensive ongoing follow-up care and hormone therapy. At least ten states now require carriers to pay for these procedures, driving up premiums for everyone in the risk pool.
The Affordable Care Act also mandates carriers cover drug and alcohol abuse treatment – which doesn’t make much sense for individuals who don’t drink or do drugs at all, and are not at risk of needing this kind of care.
We’ve also seen government crackdowns on doctors daring to question conventional wisdom on a variety of topics, including the efficacy and safety of the COVID vaccine, a variety COVID treatment protocols, and mastectomies and other invasive gender reassignment surgeries, even for children.
Learn More: Can I Get Health Insurance That Doesn’t Cover Abortion?
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The government of California recently passed a “muzzle law” that would have prevented doctors from providing free and frank advice to patients about the COVID vaccine and other treatments. The law threatened doctors who didn’t toe the line with formal charges of professional misconduct and the loss of their licenses.
Fortunately, courts signaled that the law would likely not pass Constitutional muster, and the muzzle law was quietly rescinded in a later bill.
Meanwhile, modern managed care reforms substantially limit your ability to see the doctor of your choice. In many states, all ACA-qualified health insurance plans are managed care organizations which require you to seek non-emergency treatment only from doctors within their approved care networks. This presents a natural conflict of interests, as doctors may be reluctant to recommend expensive courses of treatment even where medically indicated, since the large healthcare systems they work will fight them over the costs.
A doctor at a large healthcare system with a reputation for prescribing a large number of expensive treatments relative to his or her peers may not be working for the organization very long.
These large medical systems are themselves extremely reliant on government money –– and will not be inclined to rock the boat.
In many cases, you stand a better chance of receiving frank, unbiased medical advice from a truly independent physician than a government employee or an employee of a large medical conglomerate.
If you’re ready to get out from under Big Government and Big Healthcare, and get a better overall healthcare experience free from the undue influence of government bureaucrats and corporate interests, here are some measures you can take:
1.) Contribute to a Health Savings Account (HSA)
Even if you don’t have the immediate option to just switch out of your managed care HMO or PPO, you may still be able to contribute tax-free dollars to a health savings account.
These powerful money-saving vehicles allow you to save pre-tax for your healthcare expenses – and then use your accumulated savings with any doctor or provider you wish. There are no network restrictions on HSA dollars. You can use them to pay deductibles, copays, coinsurance costs, get a second opinion from an independent doctor, or pay for treatments prescribed by independent doctors that you could never get approved from a captive doctor beholden to a single large medical group.
In fact, with government employee doctors or doctors who depend on a large corporate healthcare provider for their livelihoods, they may not even be allowed to talk to you about some of your medical options. You may never even hear of them, until you get a second opinion from an independent physician.
You can use your HSA dollars for qualified healthcare expenses, even if you have a workplace plan. And if you leave your plan, your HSA account assets go with you. They vest to you right away, and withdrawals to pay qualified medical expenses are tax- and penalty-free!
Note: To be eligible to make HSA contributions, you must be enrolled in a qualified high deductible health plan (HDHP).
But that’s easy. Just make an appointment with a Personal Benefits Manager, and we can help you get enrolled in a qualified HDHP as soon as you’re eligible, which may be immediately, if you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period, or when the next Open Enrollment period comes around, when you can enroll for coverage that starts January 1st.
2.) Ditch Traditional Health Insurance and Switch to Health Sharing Organizations
Traditional ACA-qualified Obamacare insurance products aren’t the only game in town… and that’s a good thing!
You also have the option to opt out of the bloated and inefficient Obamacare system, and instead join a health sharing organizations.
Health sharing plans are not insurance products. Instead, they are voluntary non-profit associations of like-minded people who join together to help share each other’s medical expenses. So the risk of a high-cost medical need is spread among the members.
Think of it like an Amish barnraising: When a family in the community has a need, instead of hiring a for-profit contractor to build the barn, the entire community comes together and volunteers to help shoulder the burden directly.
Health share organizations are often faith-based, but not always: There are lots of non-denominational and even totally secular health sharing organizations to choose from.
Because health share plans aren’t insurance products, they are exempt from the litany of mandates, requirements, and administrative red tape that traditional insurance carriers have to deal with in order to sell insurance within any given state. They don’t share costs for abortions, for example. They don’t share costs for gender reassignment surgeries. And they don’t have to take on the medical costs for pre-existing conditions right away.
Instead, they typically impose a waiting period before they will share the cost of treating pre-existing conditions right away.
And they may have much more limited exposure to drug and alcohol rehabilitation or prescription drug costs.
As a result, you can typically join a health sharing organization for just a fraction of the cost per month for an unsubsidized. Obamacare health insurance policy – saving you thousands of dollars per year, especially for family plans.
So if you’re in fairly good health, and you don’t qualify for a subsidy under the Affordable Care Act, or only a small one, you can.
And perhaps best of all, health sharing organizations generally allow you to use your benefits with any doctor, hospital, or provider you choose. You aren’t limited to the narrow networks of authorized providers allowed by an HMO, PPO, or EPO plan.
If you need the capabilities of a large medical organization with a lot of technology and resources, you can use them. But when you need the services of an independent doctor who works for you, not for the government, or for a large healthcare conglomerate that is beholden to the government or corporate interests, you can do that, too.
Seen enough? Make an appointment with a Personal Benefits Advisor!
3.) Look for independent doctors
Using independent doctors offers several advantages, providing benefits that can enhance your healthcare experience. These are doctors in private practice that are not statutory employees of government clinics or of large healthcare conglomerates that are reliant on complying with government edicts and policies.
Here are some key advantages of using independent physicians:
- Personalized Care: Independent doctors often have smaller patient loads, allowing them to spend more time with each patient. This can lead to more personalized and thorough care tailored to your specific health needs .
- Greater Flexibility: Independent practitioners are not bound by the protocols and policies of large healthcare systems. They have the flexibility to make decisions based on what they believe is best for you, offering customized treatments and approaches.
- Direct Communication: You may enjoy much more direct and convenient access to independent doctors, enhancing communication and convenience. Many of their practices support direct communication channels like phone or text access, even for after hours emergencies. This can enhance the doctor-patient relationship and ensure timely responses to health concerns.
- Holistic Approach: With fewer bureaucratic constraints, independent doctors can take a more holistic approach to healthcare, considering all aspects of a patient’s well-being rather than just focusing on specific symptoms or conditions.
- Higher Patient Satisfaction: Studies have shown that patients of independent doctors report higher levels of satisfaction due to the personalized attention and quality of care they receive.
- Enhanced Continuity of Care: Independent doctors often build long-term relationships with their patients, providing continuous care that can lead to better health outcomes. This continuity helps in better tracking of medical history and managing chronic conditions more effectively.
- More privacy. At large organizations, your charts may get reviewed by multiple layers of management. The more staff, the more people who may potentially open your chart and financial records and look through them. Medical supervisors may look over your chart or review recommendations for high-dollar treatments. And the more hands have access to your personal information the more opportunity there is for data leaks.
Choosing an independent doctor can offer you a more personalized, flexible, and satisfying healthcare experience, focusing on your individual needs rather than adhering to the constraints of larger healthcare systems.
4.) Join a Direct Primary Care Practice
Direct primary care (DPC) is a great option for those who want to minimize dependency on Big Government-dominated healthcare and the attendant conflicts of interest.
Here’s how it works: You pay a flat monthly fee directly to your doctor for a range of primary care services. This fee covers most routine care, such as check-ups, consultations, and basic lab work, eliminating the need for traditional insurance billing.
As a result, doctors have vastly reduced patient loads and overhead costs. They can then devote much more of their time to patient care, allowing for much longer appointment times, and more individualized service. Same-day or next-day appointment times are routinely available. And these are almost always small, independent practices with just a handful of employees – not large healthcare bureaucracies or medical systems.
The fee typically includes unlimited office visits, extended and relaxed appointments, and direct communication with your doctor via phone or email.
There are no insurance hassles: DPC practices do not bill insurance companies, allowing doctors to focus on patient care rather than paperwork and billing.
Benefits of DPC membership include:
- Personalized Attention: With fewer patients, doctors can spend more time with you, providing personalized and attentive care.
- Cost Transparency: The monthly fee covers most primary care services, reducing unexpected medical bills.
- Accessibility: Easy access to your doctor, with shorter wait times and more flexibility in scheduling appointments.
Joining a Direct Primary Care practice can be a good idea if you value a closer relationship with your doctor and want to benefit from the services of independent physicians. It’s a straightforward, cost-effective approach to managing your health without the complexities of insurance. Nearly anyone can join, though some practices limit benefits for Medicare beneficiaries.
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How To Get Started With Health Sharing Organizations
Whatever your situation, a great way to get started is to make an appointment with one of HSA For America’s experienced Personal Benefits Managers.
It’s easy, convenient, and stress free. And we can save you hours of research and hassle.
The process is straightforward: You pick an appointment time, and we get together by phone or videoconference. We ask you some questions about what’s important to you in a health plan, and about your medical situation and budget.
We see if you qualify for a subsidy, and we compare health sharing and traditional health insurance alternatives. We weigh the benefits of contributing to an HSA and see if it’s worthwhile for you to go the HDHP/HSA combination route, whether you need a lower-deductible plan with more comprehensive benefits, or whether you will be best served with an affordable, low-cost health sharing plan.
We can also discuss the DPC option as well, and we can help you find a good practitioner near where you live. However, even with a DPC, it’s still very strongly recommended to have a catastrophic health insurance or health sharing plan in place.
HSA for America is one of a very select few benefits brokers that can talk to you about all your health insurance options, including traditional Marketplace health insurance, health sharing solutions, HSAs and HDHPs, and DPCs.
Most importantly, we’re a leading industry advocate of healthcare freedom.
If you’re concerned about your privacy and your freedom to make informed healthcare decisions for yourself and your family without undue influence from politicians, bureaucrats, or corporate bean counters, let’s get together today, and talk about what we can do to help you opt out of the madness, and choose your own doctor.
For Further Reading: Switching From Traditional Health Insurance to Health Sharing | Why Small Businesses Choose Direct Primary Care For Their Employees | How To Use Direct Primary Care and Still Protect Yourself From Major Medical Expenses
