Why are people worried about the cost of UHC? (Congress, Iraq, dollar)

[geeoro]

Originally Posted by ZGACK

The fact you see a company's profits a 'your money' is telling and frankly very distrubing.

So who's money is making the Insurance company CEO's extremely rich with their excessively high premiums?

[Dd714]

Originally Posted by cobolt

Health care does not profit much in comparison to other industries. Once you get on the link, click the list to enlarge it.

CARPE DIEM: Profit Margin: Health Insurance Industry Ranks #86

Well, there you go, the facts. From your link:

President Obama: There have been reports just over the last couple of days of insurance companies making record profits, right now," Obama said during a prime-time news conference...

Reality Check: As the table above of Profit Margins by Industry shows (click to enlarge, data here for the most recent quarter), the industry "Health Care Plans" ranks #86 by profit margin (profits/revenue) at 3.3%. Measured by profit margin, there are 85 industries more profitable than Health Care Plans (included Cigna, Aetna, WellPoint, HealthSpring, etc.).

I notice cigerattes companies at the top of the lists in profit margins however - somewhere, somehow, there is some strange irony to this to propents of government UHC who use insurance health care profit margins as a reason.

Another company on the top of the list? Pharmecuetical companies. What will the proposed plan not address? Pharmecuetical companies. Incidently they are all on board with UHC, I wonder why?

[ZGACK]

Originally Posted by geeoro

So who's money is making the Insurance company CEO's extremely rich with their excessively high premiums?

'Who's money'? The company's of course. When you exchange money for a product or service your money becomes the seller's money. You no longer have any input on how the seller uses that money.

And would you mind defining 'excessively high premiums'?

[Redisca]

Originally Posted by LogicIsYourFriend

Imagine if those billions of dollars actually were spent on health care. I never understood the argument that for-profit private insurance companies cost less than UHC. Anyone care to defend that position with reason and facts instead of scare tactics?

What makes you think that this money will be spent on health care? What makes you think it won't be eaten up by a bloated UHC bureaucracy or siphoned towards a different governmental project?

We already have some forms of government-funded healthcare in this country. My own experience with them has been horrendous -- namely, special education and school districts. My autistic son was recently denied the services he needs. The school district where we live actually denies all claims automatically, so the only way to get any services is to sue; since very few people can afford to sue, it's actually the poor who get the short end of the stick. My son's case was evaluated at the district by a standard "child study team" of about 16 people, half of them "supervisors", who really didn't do anything. From the beginning, they treated our family with outright vicious hostility, and that's the standard treatment that autism families get. Why? Because these government plutocrats see the children as their competitors for the piece of the pie. If they give out too many services, nothing will be left in the budget to give themselves raises, bonuses, and various perks (including chauffeurs). If the state needs to tighten the belt, hell if they'll freeze their own salaries before slashing the children's services down to nothing first. According to some estimates, something like 90 cents on the dollar of the funds given out to special education is swallowed up by the administration.

I fear that UHC will be the same -- that my taxes will go through the roof, and I won't get anything for it.

[GOPATTA2D]

Originally Posted by EinsteinsGhost

35%? Where did you get that from?

sec.gov

[stan4]

Originally Posted by geeoro

I would have thought you'd choose the one that was more efficient, less expensive, less discriminatory, National coverage, has cover 24 hours a day 365 days of the year all of your life, covers every American citizen and puts the money you pay back into the health system you use.
Sounds like the UHC would be the intelligent bet......

Sure...if you can find doctors who will take the govt insurance. Wait in line some more.

[DressageGirl]

I find it really funny/ironic that so many people will trust insurance companies but have this morbid fear of the government. Is the US government that bad?

Insurance companies RUN this country, and that scares me to death.

Edited to add: And I don't mean funny in a good way. Just to clarify because I know that some people will take my words and twist them.

[stan4]

Dressage: you haven't been made to jump through the govt healthcare loops and wind up on the other said with less compensation.

[Bill Keegan]

Originally Posted by DressageGirl

I find it really funny/ironic that so many people will trust insurance companies but have this morbid fear of the government. Is the US government that bad?

Insurance companies RUN this country, and that scares me to death.

Edited to add: And I don't mean funny in a good way. Just to clarify because I know that some people will take my words and twist them.

Part of the reason is choice. If you don't like the job one insurance company does, you can leave, go use a different insurance provider. If you don't like what the government option offers a few years from now, will you be able to choose another company? Likely not.

[nat_at772]

because it's a reasonable concern. Anytime the government proposes something I think:how much is it going to cost, where is the money coming from and who does it benefit.

The people who aren't asking any questions about UHC are the ones who worry me.