This has got to be one of the most interesting stories (to me) that I've covered in the past year.
It tells about a Marilyn Bartlett-- a senior citizen who happened to be an expert in the health insurance cost field-- who defied all the odds and took on the insurance companies and hospitals in Montana to fix the state's failing health care system (and in record time).
She was bullied. She was harassed. But she did it. Montana's health care system was going belly up but it's now in the black thanks to these efforts.
Bartlett says it's possible for Congress or the U.S. government to do much the same on a national level, but they're not even talking about it. The proposals typically discussed in Washington D.C. don't touch upon the successful strategies Bartlett used. It would require taking on major industries, but she says it's doable.
Watch the remarkable story by clicking the link below.
http://fullmeasure.news/news/cover-story/montanas-solution
A state lottery.
I worked for CIGNA and retired from the company but am far from happy with them because, as far as I'm concerned, they screwed with my pension to my detriment. I'm glad they were fired as Montana's health insurer. However, because of my insurance company experience, I learned that controlling costs is certainly one step in the right direction. Another idea that I had along with others is allowing more people to form associations so that they can bargain for lower insurance rates, much as companies do or school districts, etc.