Public Outsmarts Healthcare System?

In And Out: Seems that many folks are paying for health insurance only when there's a pricey medical procedure looming. After they're cared for, they drop their coverage like a bad habit.

Friday, May 14, 2010 17:08 GMT

The Global Language Monitor and OpenConnect have teamed up to track the top buzzwords surrounding healthcare reform.

Their “Healthcare Narrative Tracker Index” reveals that the public is talking about “rationing,” “price controls,” and “spending increases” when they bring up healthcare, particularly Massachusetts’ reform laws.

Underlying this main narrative is something called “gaming the system,” where people are trying to outsmart healthcare.

OpenConnect CEO Edward M.L. Peters says “gaming” consists of individuals only signing up for healthcare when a pricey medical procedure is looming.

This way, they only pay a few hundred bucks once instead of each month and are covered for thousands in medical services.

Once they’ve had their operation, they cancel their insurance.

Peters says “gaming” may work as a short-term strategy but in the end, it’ll throw the entire healthcare system off balance.