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Cap the CEO salary at $1M and you will have McDonald's district manager talent.
Insurance is a service. It spreads the risk over a large group of people.
Why doesn't anyone look at the root cause of the premiums going up? Health care costs go up. Why? Malpractice insurance and unnecessary tests. The unnecessary tests are a CYA to lessen the risk of getting sued.
Quote:
Originally Posted by World Citizen
Talk about stupid.
Can we disagree on an issue without resorting to 6th grade name calling?
You want to compare the right of Coca Cola company to make profit to the problem of having a third party, for profit health care payment system ???
They are both businesses but I should have used a strictly services company like Deloitte. There is a need for their services in the market and they provide their service for a fee. Charge enough to cover both fixed and variable costs. Anything left over is profit.
What I don't like is that I am limited to buying health insurance from one company through my work or buying on the open market from a limited selection allowed to sell in my state. For both home owner's insurance and car insurance, I was able to select from a much larger set of companies selling in the market place. It was easy to find one that met my needs of both service and price.
Cap the CEO salary at $1M and you will have McDonald's district manager talent.
Insurance is a service. It spreads the risk over a large group of people.
Why doesn't anyone look at the root cause of the premiums going up? Health care costs go up. Why? Malpractice insurance and unnecessary tests. The unnecessary tests are a CYA to lessen the risk of getting sued.
Can we disagree on an issue without resorting to 6th grade name calling?
McDonald's district managers make $1mil? I'm in the wrong line of work.
YOU should consider becoming a political spin doctor.
You seem to have natural talent for twisting facts into something other than what they really are...
well, those are the facts. the only issue i'm willing to treat as opinionative is how to repair it, restore free markets or just nationalize it all. in the end there is no debate because americans can't agree on the facts, and we will all get steamrolled by the lobbying insurance companies. we will probably end up giving these insurance companies generous tax subsidies, or something stupid like that, and call it a day.
well, those are the facts. the only issue i'm willing to treat as opinionative is how to repair it, restore free markets or just nationalize it all. in the end there is no debate because americans can't agree on the facts, and we will all get steamrolled by the lobbying insurance companies. we will probably end up giving these insurance companies generous tax subsidies, or something stupid like that, and call it a day.
There is a monopoly of health insurance carriers in our country -- created by bad regulations that didn't stop them from becoming a monopoly.
The problem can't be fixed by giving health insurers control of everyone's health care... that seems to be what is being proposed.
The insurance companies lobby in Washington are still calling the shots.
But, the really stupid part of the question, "why don't you just start your own health insurance company and undercut their prices?" is because it's not realistic. The Health Insurance industry is monopolized by just a few giant players nationwide.
That is also why the idea of "buying across state lines" that has been proposed by the republicans is nothing more than a smoke screen to make stupid people believe that they care about this problem and they're trying to help. Truth is, "buying across state lines" is the same as "keeping things the way they are"... The people making this suggestion know exactly what the truth is. The Health Insurance lobby is telling them exactly what to say to protect their interests.
This report was written in 2006 --long before Health Care Reform was being discussed. There is therefore no bias in the report because of our current debate.
This article is just a statement of facts about the Health Insurance industry.
Keep in mind that since 2006 there have been many more mergers.
How is it a monopoly? What barriers of entry make it so difficult for start ups to come in and undercut? If these guys are overcharging and making huge profits, what's to stop someone from entering the market and establishing modest pricing and still make enough to continue operating?
How is it a monopoly? What barriers of entry make it so difficult for start ups to come in and undercut? If these guys are overcharging and making huge profits, what's to stop someone from entering the market and establishing modest pricing and still make enough to continue operating?
Maybe you should read the article that I cited with the link. It explains how they're a monopoly.
Then if you still have questions... you might want to address le roi. He seems to think your idea is brilliant.
Last edited by World Citizen; 03-09-2010 at 09:36 AM..
There is a monopoly of health insurance carriers in our country
I recently read that there are 1,800 health insurance companies in the US. I thought the definition of monopoly was a single company controlling all aspects of a good or service being provided. Like a single payer system, government run health care.
In my opinion current health insurance pays for too much. Some doctors are dropping their affiliations with insurance companies and going to an all cash model. Their operating costs are dropping and therefore their prices are dropping. If they didn't have to pay exorbitant fees for malpractice insurance, then prices would fall further. The last time I received a shot at the doctor, I had to sign a waiver that the nurse explained the location may be red and swollen for a few hours. Geez it's a shot. Sometimes that happens. No need to cover your butt with a waiver for a shot other than to stop the sue happy lawyers.
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