Health Insurance

[Wifezilla]

Remember the marathon runner who died of a heart attack?

Jim Fixx.

He wrote a lot of books on running too. My brother had them all.

 

[Dunkopf]

Well, if we can't agree on diet, we can probably all agree that smoking is bad for your health and quite expensive to our healthcare system.

http://www.joejackson.com/pdf/5smokingpdf_jj_smoke_lies.pdf

I like Joe Jackson for what he does best. Sing. Just as bad as whining victim, is trying to excuse things like smo0king and say the science is BS. I've known too many people with emphysema. In the Army we ran 4 miles every day. It used to kill the smokers and there was at least 50% of the guys that smoked. Everyone was coughing and hacking the first mile.

That said we all know about the 3 pack a day smokers that live till 90. Maybe 1 in a 100.

 

[newmochick]

Part of the reason private insurance rates are going up is because private insurance is being charged a higher rate by the doctors/medical professional to help cover the costs for those medicaid and medicare patients. The states can't afford the real costs and only pays (40 - 60%?) of the true costs. The amount of federal tax dollars given by the federal government to each state to cover medicare doesn't cover all the costs. Ask Senatore Ben Nelson of Nebraska why he asked for 100% coverage for his yes vote. The difference is being picked up by those patients who have private insurance.

Also, with the new mandate by the healthcare policy, states will be required to offer a basic plan that is comparable to what is offered by private insurance. If the states can't afford the status quo now, what makes you think they will be able to afford to cover more. You are seeing increases now to cover the even greater deficiency.

What health care insurance can offer is dictated by each state, hence a mini-monopoly. Some states only have a few companies. You break down the state's fiefdom and if one is able to get coverage across state lines, it becomes competitive.

Sorry I am totally against government sponsored health plan. Ask Massachuesetts how it is working out for them! MA is $30 billion in the hole and counting. It has only been in existance for 3 years? I left the state in 2009 just as it was getting started.

 

[Dunkopf]

I don't really believe that one. Medical providers agree to fixed rates for all procedures in order to be on an insurance companies preferred provider list. If a doctor doesn't feel Medicare/Medicaid pays enough they just don't accept it. That's why a lot of doctors wont accept it. It's the same with the health insurance companies. If the provider isn't satisfied with reimbursement rates they just don't accept that insurer.

Don't be fooled by that. Health insurance companies with a few exceptions like Kaiser make a ton of money. The new health plan is a giant give away to them. I doubt that you will see any changes in the insurance mandate when the Republicans take the House back. The insurance companies would lose 30 million new customers. They won't let Congress change it. They will probably drop the provision about pre- existing conditions and wellness checks though.

 

[i_am2bz]

I don't think anyone has mentioned tort reform yet...There are those who believe healthcare costs are so high due to doctors having to spend so much on malpractice insurance.