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The real problem with healthcare in America is that we utilize these services the wrong way.  A hundred plus years ago the “conventional” wisdom of the era taught us to seek the help of medical professionals only when we knew something was wrong.  This is a “Treatment” mentality.  Given the information available, the number of medical professionals, and the distances that often had to be traveled to reach a medical professional this was the best answer.  We took care of as much as we possibly could and went for the “Doc” when it was really bad.

As medical services grew in complexity the associated costs increased.  This created an opportunity for an insurance type of solution to protect the average consumer from these more costly catastrophic events.  Fundamentally, insurance is a tool that works well when the number of events and their associated costs can be statistically predicted.  In the early days of health insurance this was definitely the case. 

Today we have knowledge and resources like never before and yet we still use these resources with a “Treatment” mentality.  In the year 2007 the Department of Health and Human Services published census data about healthcare utilization and the associated costs (This census report and associated data is available for public review.)  We have reviewed these results rather extensively and it is from this information that we found the following.

The medical industry is now using the term “Metabolic Syndrome X” to describe an individual that suffers from two or more of the  the following four conditions:

1.  Overweight

2.  High Cholesterol

3.  High Blood Pressure

4.  Blood Sugar Issues (Diabetes, Insulin Resistance, etc.) 

In 2007 the cost for treatment of Metabolic Syndrome X symptoms and their associated/resulting complications was more than $720 Billion.  This was a little more than 40% of all healthcare costs in 2007.  If cancer treatment is added to Metabolic Syndrome X the combined costs totally more than 60%.  When you add to and account for changes in overweight/obesity in the year 2010 (more than 60% of all Americans are overweight or obese), it is very possible that the total costs in 2010 for treatment of Metabolic Syndrome X and cancer will be more than $1.5 Trillion or 75% of all healthcare expenses.

We have further complicated the situation by expecting health insurance to cover every expense we may incur regardless of where in the process the expense occurs.  If we bought car insurance the same way we buy health insurance we would be buying an auto policy with provisions to offset our gasoline and maintenance expenses.  Forcing routine Primary Care expenses into the envelope of catastrophic protection (insurance) has only resulted in policies, provisions and premiums that no longer work.  Yes, we can sit back and wait for the government to try and correct this mistake.  But, in the long run, it is us as consumers who have the power to correct this problem and until we utilize our combined strengths to do so this problem is not going to get any better.

Now the Solution

The solution is really rather simply and yet it may take us 10 to 20 years to fully implement and embrace in or society because of the way we live and the lifestyle choices we make.  The solution consists of two steps.

Step 1.  Primary Care expenses and Catastrophic Care expenses need to be separated and paid for with the correct tools.

The inclusion of Primary Care expenses in our health insurance programs is no longer sustainable.  We need health insurance to be structured and priced to protect us from catastrophic events and associated expenses.  Expecting health insurance to pay for a routine office visit, basic labs and tests, and other similar services has pushed the costs of health insurance beyond the point of affordable. 

Any efforts, from the government or market place, to force the costs of health insurance down will ultimately make primary care so unprofitable than no providers will stay in primary care.  When primary care providers are unavailable we are then sent to our hospital(s) for these services.  Unfortunately, what should be a $60 visit with a primary care provider becomes a $500 visit at the hospital.  The long term outcome of this scenario is much higher primary care costs since everything becomes priced like it is a catastrophic event.

Valorcare has been specifically designed to facilitate separating Primary Care and Catastrophic Care expenses.  The Volorcare program allows individuals to structure primary care relationships which are unique to their individual needs.  Pricing and services determined by doctor and patient.  Clean, simple and to the point.            

Step 2.  As consumers we need to take greater responsibility for our health and pursue programs, processes and activities that will help us identify and prevent illnesses and injuries before they occur.  We refer to this as a change from the “Treatment” mindset to a “Proactive” mindset.

Let’s first define ”Prevention” as a process or activity which stops a illness/injury from occurring.  Let’s define “Early Detection” as a process or activity which identifies a potential illness/injury in its earliest possible stages.  Let’s define “Proactive” as a process or activity which implements measures to limit the occurrence of anticipated illnesses/injuries. Given these definitions when would then summarize a “Proactive” mindset to be the state of knowing and implementing those preventative and early detection processes in combination with proactive activities to ensure we maintain our most optimum level of health at all times.

A “Proactive” mindset requires a much greater focus in our health at the Primary Care level.  The uniqueness of these programs is too complex and diverse for an insurance style of solution.  Hence the need for a program like Valorcare which readily supports the establishment of uniqueness at any level. 

I hope you can see why we believe Valorcare is the “Healthcare Solution”.  We encourage at all times a “Proactive” mindset when Patients and Providers design their programs.  By combining new medical knowledge, skills, tests and regularly scheduled monitoring we should be able to make cancer and Metabolic Syndrome X almost non existent.  Valorcare is a perfect way to pay for primary care services.  Hard work and good choices are rewarded with reduced monthly costs.  Poor choices result in higher monthly costs for the individual making the poor choices.  Valorcare is a financially profitable model that will keep and encourage providers to pursue Primary Care as their area of specialty.  With programs like Valorcare, health insurance companies will be able to focus on providing catastrophic coverage priced at rates we all can afford. 

We see a future in which America is the healthiest country with the lowest rate of illness/injury.  It is towards this future that we are moving and we hope you will join us on our way.