I have no problem with a system that provides healthcare coverage for all – somehow. That would be a good thing.

Our company has always provided a health care plan. We didn’t need the government to tell us we had to. But after years and years of providing a healthcare plan, with costs rising between 10% and 30% every year, I was hoping that once Obamacare was in force, the escalating costs would stop and we’d be able to enjoy some stability in plans. That did not happen.

Worse, many employees that had previously been happy and comfortable with their plan had serious complaints about coverage, response time, and customer service with the equivalent plan in Obamacare. After one year of using the Obamacare equivalent, some of our employees have decided to change to an HMO or some other coverage, just to get back to what they used to have.

That includes me.

I am lucky that I have been healthy and really didn’t need to use doctors or medications. Just recently, however, I picked up bronchitis while traveling and needed a prescription for antibiotics. This was the first time I have used my health plan this year.

Here is the envelope my six pills came in. Notice, I paid $11.85 – that was my copay. That was fine with me, and it was consistent with other prescription purchases in previous years.

However, I have NO IDEA what the pharmacy charged the insurance company for this. Why does the system not show the true price of the service or product, and then the copay, like any other product?

I know I will be able to see this (at least I hope so) when I get my insurance bill, but that will be months later and for most people, the product itself my be forgotten.

We need a system where the consumer, in this case the patient, always knows  ahead of time what they are buying. Otherwise, the consumer is just an agent of purchase for a transaction that is rigged between the drug companies and the insurance companies, with the government possibly subsidizing it.

We, the people, are buying, and initiating payment, and we don’t know the size of our purchases.

That is just wrong!