Healthcare reform

[mr_genius]

Health insurance goes up

 

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=10971283

 

People who buy their own health insurance have been hit lately with premium hikes that far exceed increases in premiums for employer-sponsored coverage, according to a new survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

 

The nonprofit foundation, which is separate from health insurer Kaiser Permanente, said recent premium hikes requested by insurers for individual coverage averaged 20 percent. Some customers were able to switch plans and pay less, so people paying on their own actually wound up paying 13 percent more on average.

 

20% hike, all at once? wow. I would try to switch companies too, which seemed to work. But that 13% overall increase is very steep as well.

Edited June 22, 2010 by mr_genius

[kapkomet]

No no nononono nono no...

 

According to Baltanomics, the costs must go up before they come down.

 

 

[mr_genius]

Baltanomics

 

haha

[Balta1701]

You guys didn't seem to have a problem with the 30% year over year increase in California that Blue Cross pushed, or the 9% year over year average price increase for the past 2 decades.

[Texsox]

I really hope Republicans can make this a disaster so they can get themselves elected. The real tragedy would be for America to lead the world in affordable, quality healthcare for everyone. Republicans would lose elected jobs and we know how terrible that would be.

 

And that is basically how this sits. Democrats need this to succeed, the GOP needs it to fail. The worse the failure the better for them.

[StrangeSox]

That's true in a Real Politik sense, but that's like the Republican mantra of "Dems want America to fail" circa 2003-2006.

[Y2HH]

ahh, so the bill sucks because it has no cost controls but you hate the program with cost controls, makes sense. I'm going to go jump out this window but also stay right here and not do that.

 

Once again, not paying someone what you owe them is NOT a f***ing valid cost control. Sometimes you people make me wonder...seriously.

 

Read the article. Medicare is 1) not paying at all or 2) not paying what they promised they'd pay.

 

I REPEAT, THAT IS NOT A VALID COST CONTROL.

 

It's called stealing.

[southsider2k5]

You guys didn't seem to have a problem with the 30% year over year increase in California that Blue Cross pushed, or the 9% year over year average price increase for the past 2 decades.

 

It came more relevant when Barack said these problems were fixed.

[bmags]

Once again, not paying someone what you owe them is NOT a f***ing valid cost control. Sometimes you people make me wonder...seriously.

 

Read the article. Medicare is 1) not paying at all or 2) not paying what they promised they'd pay.

 

I REPEAT, THAT IS NOT A VALID COST CONTROL.

 

It's called stealing.

 

Sure, nobody gets paid for medicare. I don't know how our poor doctors eat, with nobody ever getting paid!

[bmags]

It came more relevant when Barack said these problems were fixed.

 

1) That was never said

2) THe bill doesn't fully get implemented until 2014.

 

[Balta1701]

1) That was never said

2) THe bill doesn't fully get implemented until 2014.

3. This is a separate issue that was created by the Republican Congress in 1996 and which has been fixed on a temporary basis yearly since then.

[Texsox]

If I was an insurance company, I think I would be tempted to toss out some rate increases and blame the upcoming changes.

[Jenksismyhero]

If I was an insurance company, I think I would be tempted to toss out some rate increases and blame the upcoming changes.

 

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=10971283

 

But even with a sizable average increase, individual premiums still span a wide range from no increases to huge hikes.

 

"There is no real consistency," Laszewski said.

[Balta1701]

Orzsag and Emmanuel have an article in this edition of the New England Journal of Medicine outlining how they think the cost-controls will work and why they'll be effective.

[mr_genius]

Orzsag and Emmanuel have an article in this edition of the New England Journal of Medicine outlining how they think the cost-controls will work and why they'll be effective.

 

I hope costs do go down. But I'll believe it when I see it.

 

oh and as i watch the news, as i post this, they reported that health care costs have increased 109% over the past 10 years.

[kapkomet]

You guys didn't seem to have a problem with the 30% year over year increase in California that Blue Cross pushed, or the 9% year over year average price increase for the past 2 decades.

 

Strawman. Again.

[Texsox]

Strawman. Again.

 

Kap, a historical cycle of large increases every few years followed by smaller increases, as noted in the article, seems like more than a strawman. I've seen these increases consistently over the years.

[kapkomet]

You're missing the point, and always do.

 

[Cknolls]

Sure, nobody gets paid for medicare. I don't know how our poor doctors eat, with nobody ever getting paid!

 

All they have to do is join a union. BO loves the union man ;)

[KipWellsFan]

You're missing the point, and always do.

 

Hey! You mess with Tex, then you're messin' with me!

 

Edited June 23, 2010 by KipWellsFan

[Balta1701]

So, in Kap's world, we have these things that are obviously only related to PR campaigns;

 

The Obama administration let the Gulf drown in oil to make itself look good

The Obama administration had their top Afghan General bash them to make itself look good.

 

However, things that would never happen; an insurance company raises its rates in response to the ACA to try to make a political statement, an oil company lies.

[Balta1701]

The Commonwealth Fund, a non-profit who appears to be genuinely non-partisan (their board includes investment bankers, the president of the Salk institute, university professors, a guy from the top of Kaiser, etc.) has a comparison study out on the status of 6 nation's health care systems through the year 2007. The U.S. comes in dead last, being by far the most expensive and by far the least effective, even for people with insurance, let alone the people denied access.

[bmags]

JONAS SALK WAS A COMMUNIST WE SHOULDN"T ALL BE ABLE TO WALK

[Texsox]

As I've been pondering this whole process I've come to a single thought, actually a question, about health care in this country.

 

Does the requirement for profit that drives a corporation help or hurt the quality of health care they deliver to the patient? When a customer walks into a car dealer, the employee of the car dealer they meet has the task of maximizing the profit the company makes both short term and long term. Same with walking into a restaurant, beach shop, or gas station. Does that also work in a Doctor's office or hospital? For most Americans, the people who are paying the bill (your insurance) and the people preparing the bill (the provider) both are trying to earn a profit from your visit. Seems like a losing play.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[NorthSideSox72]

As I've been pondering this whole process I've come to a single thought, actually a question, about health care in this country.

 

Does the requirement for profit that drives a corporation help or hurt the quality of health care they deliver to the patient? When a customer walks into a car dealer, the employee of the car dealer they meet has the task of maximizing the profit the company makes both short term and long term. Same with walking into a restaurant, beach shop, or gas station. Does that also work in a Doctor's office or hospital? For most Americans, the people who are paying the bill (your insurance) and the people preparing the bill (the provider) both are trying to earn a profit from your visit. Seems like a losing play.

I've brought this up in here many times. If the insurance industry didn't exist, then the natural consumer/provider dynamic would mean that the profit drivers align with quality of product, so yes, it would work. But as this is an insured industry, the buffering throws the at equation out the window.