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Source:
Fred Brock, 785-532-3958, feb2@k-state.edu
http://www.mediarelations.k-state.edu/WEB/News/MediaGuide/brockbio.html
News release prepared by: Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, 785-532-6415,
ebarcomb@k-state.edu
Thursday,
October 12, 2006
K-STATE
PROFESSOR'S NEW BOOK OFFERS TIPS ON LOWERING HEALTH CARE COSTS
MANHATTAN
-- Fred Brock, a Kansas State University professor and New York
Times contributor, can tell the tale of the status of the United
States' health care system with a few statistics:
*
At least 46 million people in the United States don't have health
insurance, and it's a growing middle-class problem affecting people
who make $75,000 a year and more.
*
The United States has a worse infant mortality rate than Cuba.
*
It is estimated that 18,000 people die every year because they don't
have health insurance.
*
General Motors spends more money on employee health insurance than
on the steel that goes into its automobiles.
Such
sobering statistics led Brock, R.M. Seaton Professional Journalism
Chair at K-State's A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications,
to write his new book about how to get the most health care for
the money. "Healthcare on Less Than You Think: The New York
Times Guide to Getting Affordable Coverage" is set for release
Tuesday, Oct. 17, by Times Books/Henry Holt.
There
are some major problems with health insurance in the United States,
Brock said. It's too expensive for many people, and in all but five
states pre-existing conditions prevent many Americans from purchasing
their own health insurance. This leaves them to rely on their employers
-- if they are employed and their employers provide insurance, he
said. Many employers are wondering why they got stuck with the expense
of insuring the majority of the nation, Brock said, and many of
them are cutting back or eliminating coverage. This affects all
workers, regardless of their income.
"When
lack of health insurance was mainly a problem of the 'poor,' it
didn't get the kind of attention it's getting now," he said.
With
many Americans priced out of health insurance, Medicaid becoming
increasingly dysfunctional, Medicare facing growing problems and
the national agenda focused on terrorism and the war in Iraq, Brock
said the health care crisis is going to get worse before it gets
better.
"One
of the things I do with the book is briefly discuss the history
of health insurance and how we're in the mess we're in and ways
to get out of it, but the main focus is how to reduce health costs
and cope with the current system until things get better,"
he said.
One
of the best ways people can reduce their health care costs, Brock
said, is by looking at prescription drugs. He advocates using generic
drugs when possible or ordering expensive brand-name drugs from
Canada. Although illegal, Brock said authorities almost always turn
the other way. However, he discourages anyone from buying drugs
from Mexico because of the risk of fake or substandard medicines.
Brock
said patients also can "split" their drugs. For instance,
medications may come in 20 and 40 milligram tablets for the same
price. He said it's wise for patients to buy the 40 milligram tablets
for the same price and make them last twice as long by cutting them
in half. However, Brock emphasizes checking with your physician
before doing so, especially because not all drugs can or should
be split.
When
it comes to insurance, Brock said patients should use all of the
options to their advantage. For instance, people should look for
insurance with a high deductible and lower premiums if they're generally
healthy and don't expect their costs to meet the deductible anyway.
Those with expensive health problems should look for lower deductibles
but higher premiums, assuming their costs will easily surpass the
deductible.
Those
without insurance can consider Medicaid, Brock said, but its limitations
vary from state to state, and it often is restricted to children
and individuals with children. Health discount cards offer an alternative.
Brock emphasized that the cards aren't insurance, but they do offer
lower prices at pharmacies, hospitals and clinics. The uninsured
also can try to cut a deal with health care providers to lower prices
in line with what insurers pay. Uninsured patients usually are billed
full sticker price for services, while insurance companies pay much
less for their clients who receive the same services.
"But
all of this is a Band-Aid -- none of this is really solving the
problem," Brock said. "What I'm offering is a way to muddle
through until we have a health care system that is fairer and more
rational. Hopefully this book will help people understand the issues
facing us and help them begin making smarter decisions."
Brock
is the author of "Retire on Less Than You Think: The New York
Times Guide to Planning Your Financial Future," published by
Times Books/Henry Holt in 2004, and "Live Well on the Less
Than You Think: The New York Times Guide to Achieving Financial
Freedom," published by Times Books/Henry Holt in 2005.
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