Last Saturday night Katherine and I dined at “The Club” restaurant that is located at the Shawnee Country Club, which is open to the public by the way. They are celebrating “Oktoberfest” with specials on Friday and Saturday evenings during the month of October. Our experience was delightful. The food was delicious and the German Bier was special! There are three entrees to choose from, Weiner Schnitzel, Bratwurst and Hungarian Goulash (pork tenderloin). I had the Schnitzel and Katherine had the Bratwurst. The Bier selection is Spaten Premium Lager, Ayinger Oktoberfest, Ayinger Brew-Wiss and Franziskaner Hefeweizen!! We had a great time and if you want to experience a little of Oktoberfest we recommend you give it a try. There are three weekends left!
Now to something less fun to talk about—health care! Since I am in the insurance business I think I have an understanding of that part of the cost equation. There are several contributors to the sum of health care costs. The proponents of health care legislation would have you believe that it’s all those mean, conniving, under-handed, double dealing insurance companies raising the cost of medical insurance for no good reason other to line the pockets of the stockholders and presidents of the companies. In Oklahoma there is a high level of competition. It may not be that way in some other states that we hear about on the news, but in this state it pays to shop around. The cost of medical care is the driving force of insurance premium costs. Unless you think “profit” is a dirty word, then you understand that no business can exist for very long without profit. Only our government can do that as has become painfully obvious the last few years and most especially the last year.
Going back to the contributors to the total cost of medical care we can point our fingers in many directions. It is a well established fact that medical providers err on the side of caution in practicing “defensive medicine.” Doctors will order every test known to man so as to defend themselves in the event of a liability suit. The cost for medical providers to buy professional liability insurance is big, bigger than you think. Our expectations of medical providers is very high perhaps too high. In the field of medicine things don’t always turn out as we hope and when it goes wrong we want someone to pay regardless of fault. We want to be healed and we want it now regardless of the cost.
As a people we are not all that healthy. We don’t eat right, we don’t exercise, we want a pill to solve all our aches and pains and we want someone else to pay for it. We abuse our bodies in all sorts of ways so we become high maintenance and require lots of medical attention.
Then there is the question of how to reduce the cost of providing the marvelous medical care that is available to us. I don’t see this issue addressed in any significant way and I don’t have an answer. I do understand that if use of medical care is reduced and costs of providing medical care go down then the cost of insurance will be reduced. A competitive market place from private insurance companies will work. I believe it! Do you really think a government insurance program will provide an efficient, low cost distribution system? Show me a program they have done well.
Having said all that (which is way too much I’ll be surprised if anyone is still reading this by now) I do want you to know that I want to see every American have access to affordable (definition please?) health insurance regardless of their health status or pre-existing condition. This should be provided through the private sector because it will be more efficient than a government run program. I know my cost and the cost for everyone else will increase but I am willing to pay more if that is what it takes. I find it insulting when “they” make statements that they can do all that is promised and it won’t cost any more than it does now. Give me a break!
One last thing. Did you know that if you own property, you as the owner have ultimate responsibility for what happens on that property? If someone is injured you can be liable. For instance if you own a lot and you are building a house there and a neighbor or a child comes by to look around and they are injured by a workman you could be held liable. You would expect the workman to have liability coverage but do you know that? Did you ask for a Certificate of Insurance? As the owner of the property you are the last in line and depending on the circumstances you could be held liable to pay for your neighbors injuries. This same scenario applies to mandatory Worker’s Compensation for employees on your job site. The message is to be sure your general contractor and all of his subs have general liability and Worker’s Compensation insurance or you may end up with the bill!
Editor’s Note: This Guest Editorial is offered by Will Rosebure. He is a member of The Shawnee News-Star Guest Editorial Advisory Board. He also owns and operates RBC Agency Inc., Rosebure, Bailey & Craig. The views expressed by our guest editorialists and guest columnists are theirs, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the News-Star’s management.
