The debate over Obama’s requirement that contraceptives be covered by all employer health plans has been raging for a few weeks. The Democrats have decided to push the issue from a women’s rights perspective while the GOP is trying to frame the debate around religious freedom. The issue of religious freedom goes straight to the core of our government and no doubt needs to be more fully explored. As for this being a women’s rights issue, I’m having a hard time making that connection. What right is being infringed upon? The issue isn’t about access to birth control, it’s about including birth control as part of a zero co-pay health care plan.
The logic of this thought process goes to the root-cause of our health care problems in this country. Does anyone really think that we get free stuff from our health care plan? The cost of all those mandatory covered health care costs is what goes into that final number that comes out of every paycheck. It is factored into the overhead costs of employers and impacts employee pay rates. This debate over access to free birth control highlights the disconnect that has been created between health care utilization and the cost of those services.
Very few people have true health insurance. A policy that protects individuals from significant health care costs by spreading the risk over a population. Think about how auto insurance works. The only time a claim is submitted is when an unexpected lose occurs. This is not how health insurance works in this country. What we have is prepaid health care. States and now the federal government mandate coverage for specific tests and procedures. The cost of those services must be recouped through employee and employer health care plan payments. These services are not free. The concept may have started out with the best of intensions by making things such as mammograms available to women who couldn’t afford them but when a significant number of participants in a health care plan utilize that service the cost does not get very diluted.
Let’s go back to auto insurance. Let’s say that a state requires auto insurance to cover the cost of replacing airbags when the airbag light comes on indicating a problem. Sounds like a great idea, doesn’t it? Everyone’s auto insurance would go up a little to spread out the cost of this service. It works so well that the state then requires insurance to cover the cost of replacement brake pads. Now things have changed. This is a big cost since at some point everyone will need to utilize this service. Of course the idea of free brake pads is supported by everyone until they see the cost reflected in their insurance premiums. The brake companies love this plan because they can now negotiate with insurance companies to make sure that only their brake pads are covered by a specific plan. Then the gas companies seize on the opportunity. Free gas is then rolled into insurance coverage. Of course there are limitations and requirements but it’s free, right?
The issue of health care covered contraception is not about women’s rights. It’s about how we manage health care. It about how nothing is free. Sandra Fluke, like many Americans, have come to believe that there are truly free things. Ms. Fluke testified before Congress on the cost of birth control and how it would be too much to bear for a college student but who then pays? The woman with 3 kids trying to make ends meet as she sees the cost of her health care spiral out of control because everyone wants something for free. Our health care system has reached the tipping point with this approach as there is no one left to spread the costs to, we now see a push for the federal government to step in but this is not a permanent solution. For health care to return to a self-sustaining system, it must revert back to a true “insurance” plan where people are financially insulated from the massive costs of a one-time injury or treatment for a chronic condition. The cost of birth control, prostate exams and Viagra should be the financial responsibility of the individual utilizing the service.
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