Sunday, November 1st, 2009: TEA Party Express comes to Helena! (student loans, lawyers)

[Dreamer222]

I've been reading this and just have to comment about how ignorant most of you all are. You continue to support the same old ideas that have put us in this situation. Apparently some of you don't like when organick cuts and pastes relevant info but I will anyway. I think you all need to wake up and realize that the things you supposedly fight for are not given to you by the Republicans in anyway, in fact the opposite happens but you listen to the rhetoric spread around by the likes of Rush Limbaugh etc.

ex: I hear constantly about freedom from gov't....well who put the patriot act in place? who wire tapped us citizens? who lied about reasons for war? HELLO

Employer and Employee Health Insurance Costs
Over the last decade, employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have increased 131 percent. 4
Employees have seen their share of job-based coverage increase at nearly the same rate during this period jumping from $1,543 to $3,515.4
The cumulative increase in employer-sponsored health insurance premiums rose at four times the rate of inflation and wage increases during last decade. This increase has made it much more difficult for businesses to continue to provide coverage to their employees and for those workers to afford coverage themselves.4

• The average employer-sponsored premium for a family of four costs close to $13,400 a year, and the employee foots about 27 percent of this cost.4 Health insurance costs are the fastest growing expense for employers. Employer health insurance costs overtook profits in 2008, and the gap grows steadily. 5
• Total health insurance costs for employers could reach nearly $850 billion by 2019. Individual and family spending will jump considerably from $326 billion in 2009 to $550 billion in 2019.6
• The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that job-based health insurance could increase 100 percent over the next decade.7 Employer-based family insurance costs for a family of four will reach nearly $25,000 per year by 2018 absent health care reform.7

The Impact of Rising Health Care Costs

• Economists have found that rising health care costs correlate with significant drops in health insurance coverage, and national surveys also show that the primary reason people are uninsured is due to the high and escalating cost of health insurance coverage.8
• A recent study found that 62 percent of all bankruptcies filed in 2007 were linked to medical expenses. Of those who filed for bankruptcy, nearly 80 percent had health insurance.9
• According to another published article, about 1.5 million families lose their homes to foreclosure every year due to unaffordable medical costs.10
• Without health care reform, small businesses will pay nearly $2.4 trillion dollars over the next ten years in health care costs for their workers, 178,000 small business jobs will be lost by 2018 as a result of health care costs, $834 billion in small business wages will be lost due to high health care costs over the next ten years, small businesses will lose $52.1 billion in profits to high health care costs and 1.6 million small business workers will suffer “job lock“— roughly one in 16 people currently insured by their employers.11

[Joe Doer]

Originally Posted by organick

Profits at 10 of the country’s largest publicly traded health insurance companies rose 428 percent from 2000 to 2007.


Health care costs are not determined by either of those programs they are determined by private insurance and providers apples and oranges my friend. Also medicaid reimbursement rates have consistently dropped over the past 5+ years.

For the quarter, UnitedHealth earned $859 million.

Humana reported third quarter revenues of $7.44 billion, an 8 percent increase from the $6.99 billion it earned for the same period in 2008. More significantly, it had a net income of $301.51 million for the quarter, a 65 percent increase from the $183 million it brought in for the same period last year.Humana reported spending 81.9 percent of premiums on care, down from 84.1 percent during the same period in 2008.[LEFT]






[/LEFT]

Wow!!!

How does someone have all this cut and paste data at their ready? Is it possible you have all those numbers as knowledge? I doubt it. You probably have a whole file provided by the DNC for Oabamabots.

[Joe Doer]

Originally Posted by Dreamer222

I've been reading this and just have to comment about how ignorant most of you all are. You continue to support the same old ideas that have put us in this situation. Apparently some of you don't like when organick cuts and pastes relevant info but I will anyway. I think you all need to wake up and realize that the things you supposedly fight for are not given to you by the Republicans in anyway, in fact the opposite happens but you listen to the rhetoric spread around by the likes of Rush Limbaugh etc.

ex: I hear constantly about freedom from gov't....well who put the patriot act in place? who wire tapped us citizens? who lied about reasons for war? HELLO

Employer and Employee Health Insurance Costs
Over the last decade, employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have increased 131 percent. 4
Employees have seen their share of job-based coverage increase at nearly the same rate during this period jumping from $1,543 to $3,515.4
The cumulative increase in employer-sponsored health insurance premiums rose at four times the rate of inflation and wage increases during last decade. This increase has made it much more difficult for businesses to continue to provide coverage to their employees and for those workers to afford coverage themselves.4

• The average employer-sponsored premium for a family of four costs close to $13,400 a year, and the employee foots about 27 percent of this cost.4 Health insurance costs are the fastest growing expense for employers. Employer health insurance costs overtook profits in 2008, and the gap grows steadily. 5
• Total health insurance costs for employers could reach nearly $850 billion by 2019. Individual and family spending will jump considerably from $326 billion in 2009 to $550 billion in 2019.6
• The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that job-based health insurance could increase 100 percent over the next decade.7 Employer-based family insurance costs for a family of four will reach nearly $25,000 per year by 2018 absent health care reform.7

The Impact of Rising Health Care Costs

• Economists have found that rising health care costs correlate with significant drops in health insurance coverage, and national surveys also show that the primary reason people are uninsured is due to the high and escalating cost of health insurance coverage.8
• A recent study found that 62 percent of all bankruptcies filed in 2007 were linked to medical expenses. Of those who filed for bankruptcy, nearly 80 percent had health insurance.9
• According to another published article, about 1.5 million families lose their homes to foreclosure every year due to unaffordable medical costs.10
• Without health care reform, small businesses will pay nearly $2.4 trillion dollars over the next ten years in health care costs for their workers, 178,000 small business jobs will be lost by 2018 as a result of health care costs, $834 billion in small business wages will be lost due to high health care costs over the next ten years, small businesses will lose $52.1 billion in profits to high health care costs and 1.6 million small business workers will suffer “job lock“— roughly one in 16 people currently insured by their employers.11

Another cut and paste Obamabot. This is like an invasion of aliens.

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by Joe Doer

Another cut and paste Obamabot. This is like an invasion of aliens.

Haha!!! Best description ever!!

Funny how if we cite something to support our views, we're full of it, but if they cite something to support their views, it's gospel truth. Ain't reality-by-validation wonderful?!

[Reziac]

How about we go back to just paying our own health care out of pocket? There was a time when that was affordable for almost everyone, and health insurance was fairly cheap and only covered catastrophic events. Look at the numbers Dreamer222 posted (which actually go to support what I contended above), and ask yourself if those trillions of dollars wouldn't have been better spent directly by the people affected, rather than used to fund a huge bureaucracy (both what the insurance industry has become, and the associated government regulations and enforcement agencies that force employers to pay part or all of workers' health care costs, as if employers are somehow totally responsible for your health??)

[organick]

Originally Posted by Joe Doer

Wow!!!

How does someone have all this cut and paste data at their ready? Is it possible you have all those numbers as knowledge? I doubt it. You probably have a whole file provided by the DNC for Oabamabots.

or it is very easily accessible data. Get a clue its in black and white. Not really hard to find. Try google.

[organick]

Originally Posted by Joe Doer

Another cut and paste Obamabot. This is like an invasion of aliens.

thats right anyone with actually information is an "obamabot" what does that make you? Name calling does not really go far in advancing your argument which has not one bit of actual information.

[organick]

Originally Posted by Reziac

Haha!!! Best description ever!!

Funny how if we cite something to support our views, we're full of it, but if they cite something to support their views, it's gospel truth. Ain't reality-by-validation wonderful?!

he hasn't cited anything. You can find thoose same numbers with a simple internet search, from the AFL/CIO I just found them too.

[organick]

Originally Posted by Reziac

How about we go back to just paying our own health care out of pocket? There was a time when that was affordable for almost everyone, and health insurance was fairly cheap and only covered catastrophic events. Look at the numbers Dreamer222 posted (which actually go to support what I contended above), and ask yourself if those trillions of dollars wouldn't have been better spent directly by the people affected, rather than used to fund a huge bureaucracy (both what the insurance industry has become, and the associated government regulations and enforcement agencies that force employers to pay part or all of workers' health care costs, as if employers are somehow totally responsible for your health??)

So you are against benefits for workers???? Are you against labor unions??


Plus your argument does not make sense. "Spent directly by those affected" cancer treatment costs 100's of thousands of dollars??


Exactly what part of increased profits and reduced payouts confuses you?

If ceo's were not making billions and the corporations were not reaping huge profits then premiums would be lower.


The concept of single payer is quite simple. EVERYONE pays in and EVERYONE gets coverage when they need it. Period.

[Dreamer222]

Originally Posted by Joe Doer

Wow!!!

How does someone have all this cut and paste data at their ready? Is it possible you have all those numbers as knowledge? I doubt it. You probably have a whole file provided by the DNC for Oabamabots.

Yes you are correct. I am paid by the DNC to go on internet forums


Perhaps I know how to use the internet to do research and find information