The lecture given by Dr. Sean Flynn was easily my favorite content we covered thus far. For a long time, I planned to go into the medical field and it was something I cared very deeply about. Because of this, the relationship between consumers, insurance companies, and the healthcare providers has been something that also peaked my insurance. As an 18 year old college student who has just recently taken on their own insurance, the way these entities interacts quite boggles my mind. How is it that when I'm sick I have to go to an urgent care not really knowing how much the visit is going to be? Money is not always readily accessible for everyone when the bill comes in the mail. Dr. Flynn's plan for United States healthcare is one that I would largely support and believe should be strongly considered by politicians.
For me, the most convincing aspect of his plan is the competition that would be created among each company or healthcare provider. As we have seen for many years, the way our economy works is one that shows great success and is admired by many countries. His plan aligns the healthcare industry to work in a similar fashion. Third party insurances become virtually nonexistent and the consumer would be paying the healthcare provider directly. This direct exchange would immediately create competition among various companies. The prices for healthcare would immediately drop because there would be competition to have lower prices and bring in more customers. Along with this, customer service would be a much greater priority inside each business. How the customer feels about the service they received would matter because that would decide whether or not the customer returned. The companies profits would now be dependent on the care and services they are providing.
As a customer, there are quite a few important benefits to note:
-In Dr. Flynn's plan, he would allot each individual $2000 for medical expenses for the upcoming year. This is cash in hand that can be saved or used as you please. If you don't spend all of it, that's cash you get to keep.
-Prices will drop due to competition
-Customer service and hospitality will go up because customer return rates will not be dependent on it
-You would know up front what the cost of the procedures you are having done will be
-You would pay for bills up front and wouldn't be waiting on the bill to arrive months after the procedure is done
There is so much more to this plan that he thought through so thoroughly. I think as a country, this is something that should be considered.