Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 11, 1992 TAG: 9203110325
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ERMINIE K. WRIGHT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Indigent persons were cared for by local health departments. There were more family physicians than specialists, and part of each doctor's day was caring for the sick in their homes. Doctors phoned prescriptions to pharmacies that delivered the medicine.
Hospitals were for surgery and special treatment. To pay a hospital bill of $100 to several hundred dollars was a hardship, but it did not wipe out the savings of a lifetime or force the selling of one's home.
Then came Blue Cross, sponsored by a group of hospitals and physicians. It was accepted as a community service and received wide publicity.
Covering hospital charges and physician fees, it was not available to individuals but only to groups of five and more. The premiums were $4.80 per quarter for individual coverage, and slightly more for a family.
Because of the small cost, some businesses paid the full amount; others shared the cost. When employees asked what could happen when they retired, they were told they could convert to individual payment. But they were not told that premiums would be much higher than the group rate, or that they would continue to increase until they were far more than retirees on small incomes could pay.
Because Blue Cross would pay, we cannot fault doctors who sent patients with minor ailments to the hospital instead of making house calls or advising over the telephone. Doctors raised their fees and stopped making house calls.
At first, surgeons were not included, but Blue Shield was added for them and operations became popular.
Hospital business boomed. Additions were made to hospitals, and elaborate new ones were built. Expensive equipment, some rarely used, was purchased. Various new tests and treatments were installed.
All added tremendously to hospital charges, as did enormous charges for innumerable small items, such as $5 for an aspirin.
Lawyers saw a rich field. The number and size of malpractice suits increased. Liability rates skyrocketed to further increase physician fees.
In spite of the enormous hospital charges and high doctor fees, Blue Cross held its premium low for about 18 years until practically all employers had some form of Blue Cross coverage. Then Blue Cross began charging enough to actually cover claims plus expenses.
Health care is no longer a modest personal responsibility. It is a major expense, too great for millions to pay or for many businesses to afford. Health care is now as important as wages in negotiations.
A pebble thrown into a pool causes a ripple that spreads in every direction. Blue Cross was the pebble in the health-care pool.
Erminie K. Wright , of Roanoke, is a retired businesswoman.
by CNB