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Your style of writing makes it very hard for me to read your post.
With single-payer, there is just one entity that the bills are sent to, not thousands like in our country where we have lots of health insurance companies.
I am sorry if my posts are difficult to read
but even with single payer you cant control the costs
can you control the administrative costs....YES
but you cant control what an x-ray machine made in china costs
you cant control what johnson and johnson wants to charge for antiseptic
that is my point
most people only think with blinders on and they only see "oh insurance is too costly" or 'omg, look at what the doctor is charging' instead of seeing the WHOLE PICTURE.... most people only see the doctor pocketing that $70 for the office vist...they dont see that that xxx amount of dollars that the doctor charges has to cover NOT ONLY his salary, but the rent/mortgage, the taxes, his insurance, his electric bill, his employees, any equipment/supplies that he needs to make his SERVICE to you better
but putting the government in charge, certainly isnt going to work well either
it (private industry) or the government(singlepayer) cant regulate the cost of outside things
please read my rant (I apologize for its length) and try to see my point
again.... Doing nothing is not the answer.
In the age of computers, I do believe that single payer can do much to control costs.
As it is right now, you have thousands of individuals across the US who purchase supplies ... no one really knows what someone else may be paying for the same item.
Fear of the unknown and of change is the real boogyman that we're facing.
but even with single payer you cant control the costs
can you control the administrative costs....YES
but you cant control what an x-ray machine made in china costs
you cant control what johnson and johnson wants to charge for antiseptic
that is my point
most people only think with blinders on and they only see "oh insurance is too costly" or 'omg, look at what the doctor is charging' instead of seeing the WHOLE PICTURE.... most people only see the doctor pocketing that $70 for the office vist...they dont see that that xxx amount of dollars that the doctor charges has to cover NOT ONLY his salary, but the rent/mortgage, the taxes, his insurance, his electric bill, his employees, any equipment/supplies that he needs to make his SERVICE to you better
The crazy part is that most of our medical spending is on the sickest 10%-20%.
As WorldCitizen keeps saying, doing nothing is not the answer.
Instead of trying to attack my sources and everything else, what solutions do you propose workingclasshero?
I agree that doing nothing is not the answer
I have said for years get rid of the insurance companies as far as covering every sniffle someone has...I believe going back to a "hospitalization" tpye of insurance might work
as far as reducing the actual cost, I am not sure what can be done
do we want to regulate what someone can make...ie a set wage for a doctor....would that be set by region(area).....would that be set by competence??? ie are we going to pay a really great doctor the same as we would pay a quack???
if we can control electric costs that would help...but until the government is out of the pocket of the elecrtic/power companies that wont happen.....I have said a while ago , that will all the stimulus/bailout monies that we spent we could have put a solar elecrtic system on every single house in america...the effect would be a true elecrtic grid, powered by the people, and the elimination of electric companies...did our government even THINK ABOUT IT...not that I know
even with the costs of machines, we cant really control that, unless we take over all the manufacturing companies too.....even then if it cost them $100 to make then we cant expect them to sell it for $99
I am not saying I have the answers...that is why I am ASKING the questions....JUST HOW can/will we control costs. in a field that costs are ever spiraling upward?????
in a singlepayer system we are RELYING on the taxpayer, many 55-65 year olds are only working in order to have health insurance, before medicare kicks in at 65.....adding single payer system we will see many people retire....curently SS is hurting,,,less people are working..meaning less money coming into the government...right now we cant even have our government operating without a defecit (spending more than is coming in) and our debt is crazy.
The kind of coverage you've described is group coverage. Group coverage is something that is really becoming hard to come by for most Americans.
Employers are discontinuing it -- some are even demoting long time employees to keep from paying it -- and many are hiring new employees only as temporary and seasonal to keep from paying for Health Care Coverage.
People having a $5000 deductible on an Individual policy (like I have) in order to afford insurance is, in effect, already doing what you've suggested - "hospitalization type insurance."
I pay almost $300 per month for a policy like that. In effect I pay for everything --if I go to the doctor. (I don't go.)
I pay almost $3,600 per year for a policy that I don't use. I can't afford to use my insurance because the deductible is so high.
Even with insurance, a major illness will be catastrophic for me.
If you read through the Maine forum's discussion, many other people have already purchased $5000 deductible policies trying to "stay insured".
Facing Anthem's proposed 2010 increases, many of them will probably become uninsured. Hopefully, they don't have pre-existing conditions or other health problems.
If they do, they'll have to sell what they own to keep paying Anthem.
This year... not some time in the future.... with our economy in it's current state and so many people out of work, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is planning to raiseIndividual policy premiums by 20-40%.... nationwide.
Luckily, you and I are not the ones who have to come up with the solution.
But, instead of digging in our heels, screaming how it can't be done... white knuckled from our fear of change.... maybe we should support our elected officials and allow them to do their jobs.
The truth is, our current health care system is in trouble. Left to self regulate, health care costs and the cost of insurance have skyrocketed and are completely out of control.
We need to learn from history that self regulation only helps those people who are making money from the lack of regulation. They may pretend to have your best interest at heart... but the truth is, it's all about money.
I once worked as a secretary in a Health Insurance Brokerage firm. I've also worked as a secretary in a Worker's Compensation division of a major Health Insurance Provider and as an Office Manager in a small business where I had first hand knowledge of Employee Health Insurance cost... what is your background?
Last edited by World Citizen; 02-09-2010 at 11:09 AM..
Canada's single payer coverage works on a 1% overhead.
We are not Canada - we have a MUCH bigger population than Canada - with FAR MORE health care facilities than Canada
And, Medicare is a bad example - in their limited coverages - and the fact that under their program - seniors are losing doctors. More and more doctors are REFUSING TO ACCEPT medicare.
Sorry, the references you provided are not examples of proof of the 2% overhead - not even close
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The Writing on the Wall...
