Health reform makes health care more affordable, holds insurers more accountable, expands coverage to all Americans and makes our health system sustainable.What the White House says directly contradicts what is happening on the streets.
I think this was designed to fail. I think behind closed doors the people who put this thing together were trying to find a way to have people literally beg for Medicare to be expanded to everyone. Destroy the system and rebuild.
12 comments:
Of course....surprise!!!....
Now everyone please stand in line...well except for unions, welfare "employees" and other government employees/retirees.
My suggestions is to join a union and retire in place.
You read my mind Lou. (Probabaly everyones mind for that matter)
I have been thinking about going without insurance. It costs me nearly $15,000 a year to insure my family. We never use the insurance. Now I hear rates will continue to climb 10-20% a year until 2014.
I am self employed and buy through a broker. From what I can tell, you end up overpaying for what you use becuase of the fear of catostrophic injuries. I am not afraid to just put the money in the bank and save it instead of buying insurance. Now I wonder if Obama is going to allow me to do that.
Anyone have any advice???
W, I would at least buy catastrophic coverage, or coverage with high deductibles, say $5k or $10k per year. That way you get the discounts the plans have negotiated with the providers, and you put a limit on your costs. Without insurance, an appendectomy costs $18k. With insurance discounts, the cost is more like $7k. If you get cancer, do you have $150k to pay for treatment?
Don't you think I could negotiate lower prices myself directly with the doctors?
Also, I'm still pretty young. I could save $150,000 in ten years.
W, when you are writhing in pain from a bursting appendix or are unconscious after falling off your roof, you won't be in a position to negotiate. You may be able to negotiate elective procedures, or procedures you don't need right this minute, but the emergency incidents will cost you.
Talk to your broker about the high deductible plans.
W...being over sixty and self employeed I have a high deductable HSA which addresses most of your issues. Having a "get into the hospital" insurance card is a good thing, negotiated group pricing and tax deductable savings plan is good, and coverage in case of something really bad. I have negotiated lower costs by just asking why and what are the alternatives.
Thanks for the HSA idea!!!
The status quo healthcare system had premiums going up by double digit increases every year now. Thats why reform was needed. Our plain vanilla hmo insurance premiums at my business have gone up 110% since 2001. My profits dont go up an extra 10% a year to infinium so something had to give eventually. The public option is the only way to put for profit healthcare in check.
An anon above has it right. Insurance should be for catastrophic coverage only. Instead, plans that are labeled as "insurance" are instead medical plans, and users have no need to self-ration. If the only insurance available had a high annual deductible and none of the co-pay BS, medical costs would dive.
It shouldn't cost $200 for a routine office visit, but the doctors bill that because they know their patients won't contest it because it's covered by "insurance." If your kid has an earache it should be 30-40 bucks, tops, to visit the doc for 5 minutes. If routine medical costs were reasonable, there wouldn't be a crisis because we could simply pay in cash for almost all of our medical needs, and if the shit hits the fan and we wind up in the hospital we'd be covered by affordable catastrophic coverage.
Even though I'm a big fan of the free market, I've come to believe that for profit insurance is a bad thing. How about converting all insurance to mutual form, where there's no incentive for management to manipulate earnings, and the policy holders elect management.
Actually the facts say that insurance companies profits are low and excessive. Insurance companies are about averages and spread the cost of a single event over a number of years for a fee. I spent a while doing analysis of this in corporate situation and cost shifting by government onto the commercial market, litigation risk costs, medical intensity and American life style are the key drivers. If you listen to the "message" coming out of DC you will reach the wrong answer...sorry if that doesn't fit you world view, but the facts support it. Oh yes the executives make too much..let's add them to the laundry list of people to hate, but fire them all and it will not impact insurance costs by a noticible amount.
As mentioned a while ago, I was out of work. I got a job with a company actually pretty famous for paying not so well but giving INCREDIBLE benefits. I had to fill out an extensive previously existing condition statement so basically they cover jack crap with my wife who is a breast cancer survivor.
Gee Barry, ya' kinda lied to us. Duh.
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