Health Care ... It's the Republicans' fault!

[MikeBjerum]

Heard Bama again this noon.  He is fighting for his "health care" reform and upset that the insurance industry was profitable.  He blames the Republicans, because they had ten years to reform health care and did nothing.

Now correct me if I am wrong, but:
#1  We are not reforming health care today, but trying to change insurance;
and #2  The Republicans did nothing to fix health care except to try and change tort, make doctors accountable for duplications, crack down on insurance, welfare and medical assistance fraud.

Let's see ... I recall many attempts at #2 under a few leaders since the 80's, but they could never get it through ... Hum .... Who would have pushed for that  

If you want to fix health care you need to fix health care and their changes rather than giving a blank check to the health industry and subsidizing the insurance payments from the gov ... our checkbooks.

Insurance company profits are not the big issue.  Runaway inflation and duplication in health providers is the root!  I go back to my claim that if we could get by without health insurance in as recent history as the 50's and 60's, basic health needs should not be out of financial reach of the average American worker this soon.

[WatchManUSA]

My Dad always said that, "Figures never lie but liers figure."  I'm sure he did not orginate the saying but there is truth in the saying.

We are hearing figures from Obama and his minions that the profit and profit increases if insurance compaies is, well, obsene.  I have seen that figures that profits have increased by nearly 60%.  The peoblem is if you made a profit last year of $1.00 and the next year the profit is $1.60 you had a 60% increase in profits.

Other statistics indicate that insurnce compaies profit margin only averages 2.2% on revenue.

I found this discussion on NewsBusters  from October 2009 - AP's Woodward Fact-Checks Health Insurance Company Profits, Finds Them 'Anemic'

LINK: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-blumer/2009/10/26/aps-woodward-fact-checks-health-insurance-company-profits-finds-them-ane

From the atricle: Quick quiz: What do these enterprises have in common? Farm and construction machinery, Tupperware, the railroads, Hershey sweets, Yum food brands and Yahoo? Answer: They're all more profitable than the health insurance industry.

It is worth a look.

[TAB]

If they really wanted to reform health care they could, but they don't want to do that, they want to make a big name for themselfs and get relected.


5 easy things that would do a bunch of good.

1 make it so every one has to pay the same price for health ins.  why is it half the price if I join on a group plan vs me joining alone?

2 Make doctors accountable, none of this geting your lic yanked in one state, then going to another and practicing.  no more passing of the buck crap.

3 help doctors with thier student loans.  you know offer more progarms like come work for us for 5 years and will pay off your student loans.

4 Make doctors donate XXXX ammount of time a year to free clincs to help those that can not aford healthcare.( this one really ticks off most doctors)

5  go after fruad aggressively.


I've made this comment before.  If I screw up and cuase the loss of some ones leg, there is no cap on the damages that they can get, yet if my wife screws up and cost some one thier leg, there is   why?

[MikeBjerum]

Tab,

A good list, but #1 is not heath care ... a good idea, but it does not address actual health care or its costs.

Start with everyone being individually responsible for their own costs.  If you do this the old maxim "what will the market bear" will drive costs down.

Second, require every health care provider #1 hand out a price sheet explaining what this is going to cost if you do it, and #2 an itemized statement for goods and services rendered when you bill the patient.

I can tell volumes on health billing abuses that come from the insurance side, and even a few of my own when I questioned what I was paying out of my own pocket.  However, with insurance and/or gov paying the bills most people don't care what it costs.  If you are paying yourself you bet you care what it costs, and you will hold them as responsible for their charges as when you take your car in for a repair.

[TAB]

What I ment was, you should charge a person the same, rather they join thru a group plan or are joining just by themselfs.

explain  to me why when I was working as a industrail painter, it cost me $350/ month.  yet when I tried to join after I lefted that job they qouted me 600 for the same plan.  Thats what I'm talking about.   I'm not talking about charge the same price for a healthy person in thier 20s and one in thier 80s.

I agree that many people abuse health care, but doctors do too.  My wife always comments about people having very expesnive tests/ scans done when they don't need them.

[Sponsor]

[WatchManUSA]

What I ment was, you should charge a person the same, rather they join thru a group plan or are joining just by themselfs.

explain  to me why when I was working as a industrail painter, it cost me $350/ month.  yet when I tried to join after I lefted that job they qouted me 600 for the same plan.  Thats what I'm talking about.   I'm not talking about charge the same price for a healthy person in thier 20s and one in thier 80s.

Perhaps someone or some group was subsidizing your coverage by $250 per month.

Another quote I'll add: George Will, "Confiscate all the profits of all the health insurance companies, with those profits you could finance our healthcare for 48 hours."

[fightingquaker13]

Tab,

A good list, but #1 is not heath care ... a good idea, but it does not address actual health care or its costs.

Start with everyone being individually responsible for their own costs.  If you do this the old maxim "what will the market bear" will drive costs down.

Second, require every health care provider #1 hand out a price sheet explaining what this is going to cost if you do it, and #2 an itemized statement for goods and services rendered when you bill the patient.

I can tell volumes on health billing abuses that come from the insurance side, and even a few of my own when I questioned what I was paying out of my own pocket.  However, with insurance and/or gov paying the bills most people don't care what it costs.  If you are paying yourself you bet you care what it costs, and you will hold them as responsible for their charges as when you take your car in for a repair.

Thing is, even with you're open billing, which I support, you're still screwed. I don't know what I need in terms of tests. Further, a prudent doctor won't let you go a'la carte either. Suppose I want X and Y, but not Z tests because in my unquailfied opinion I don't need it? 1 year later I get cancer. Test z might have detected it. Forget lawsuits, will the AMA punish this guy for failure to excersize due diligence? Yep. Another thing. I don't have insurance. My not inconsiderable bills I pay out of pocket. Many Docs won't touch me when I say say my service provider is Visa. Why? They get payed cash on the barrel head, no delays and no quibbling from Blue Cross about fee rates. Still, no insurance, no service. What's up with that? My doc, who took me a while to find, actually gives me a discount for cash, based on the above reasons. Her answer to my question was that the insurance companies (restraint of trade be damned) don't like the competition. As a solo practitioner she can get away with stuff larger medical groups can't. True or not I don't know. What I do know is that I was denied services at 6 doctors before I found one who would take cash. WTF?
FQ13  

[TAB]

Perhaps someone or some group was subsidizing your coverage by $250 per month.

Another quote I'll add: George Will, "Confiscate all the profits of all the health insurance companies, with those profits you could finance our healthcare for 48 hours."

nope, as a biz owner, I can tell you how it works, the more employees you have on health ins the cheaper it gets.  even with 3 employees/ familys and myself on a group plan it was down to about $450/ month.   buying in bulk just makes things cheaper.

[ericire12]

Fortune magazine reported the health insurance industry has a 2.2% profit margin..... It aint "big insurance's" fault

[TAB]

Fortune magazine reported the health insurance industry has a 2.2% profit margin..... It aint "big insurance's" fault

but there are lots of health ins companys out there that are non profit.  kiaser for example.