Managed Care Matters

A while ago I posted on the use of distorted data by folks seeking to promote an agenda. Recently Insurance Newscast arrived on my virtual doorstep with a textbook example under the intriguing headline " Most Companies Oppose Single-Payer Health Care System, State Coverage Mandates".

The survey purportedly found that "Most U.S. companies do not support a single-payer health care system or state legislation mandating coverage[italics are mine]."

The press release noted that the number of respondents that did not support "Universal system such as single-payer" was 50%. What exactly does that mean? Did respondents not like universal coverage mandates, or a universal 'system', or single payer? Or all three? What is a 'universal system' exactly? Given the poor phrasing of the report, the reader is left with no idea what the results mean.

Further complicating matters is the position of the survey's sponsor, the National Business Group on Health on mandated universal coverage - they endorse it, unequivocally. To wit: "the National Business Group on Health announced today that it would support efforts to require individuals to have health insurance coverage for themselves and their dependent children." I know, this is an individual rather than employer mandate, but that distinction may well be lost in translation.

The reason for my upset should be obvious; the response to this survey of larger employers, co-sponsored by a widely-respected business group, will find its way into the popular press, to be bandied about by pundits and 'experts' while suffering further distortion along the way.

The question itself (which was not provided and not on the sponsors' websites, neither of which provided access to the detailed survey report) looks to be specifically designed to promote an anti-universal coverage, anti-single payer agenda.

This is neither helpful nor ethical, nor is it consistent with the stated objectives of the NBGH. If business groups and consultancies that promote themselves as objective want to be taken seriously, they need to do a much better job than this.

Note - I am no fan of single-payer, I am a fan of universal coverage, but have no idea what a 'universal system' is.