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Before or after the bill was passed, it boils down to spread the cost around. When people who can't pay go to the ER, it forces hospitals to charge more for people who can pay to cover the cost. When you work somewhere and a few people have very expensive medical issues, your entire group's plan will cost more the next year because of it, spreading the cost around.
Insurance companies have been the "beauracrats" making health care decisions made on cost and profit, not on what's best for the patient. The government is just wanting to take their place, but it will be the same principles. I have been told by my insurance that I am not allowed XYZ med that my doc wants me to use until I try 2 or 3 that THEY think will work (based on a pencil pusher sitting at a desk looking at costs) and are cheaper. Even though there were contraindications for me to use their proposed substitutes, they refused to pay for what the doc wanted me to use until I was prescribed, filled, and went through the time period necessary to use the other meds.
I am not happy about govt takeover of insurance, but honestly, after looking it all over, I am not really convinced it is going to be worse.
Then you better stop it immediately for the retired and disabled veterans and the elderly.
Can't have none of dat dere socialism goin on in 'merika.
Second, even if there had been a public insurance option, there's a huge difference between that and a private insurance company. The latter is concerned with making a profit which means they have a much stronger incentive to ration care.
And the former has no reason to keep costs under control on two fronts. Firstly their is no accountability for where the money is coming from, they don't need to make a profit and could actually operate in the red indefinitely because the taxpayer will foot the bill. See the US postal service or Amtrak for two good examples.
Secondly as with any government run program administrative costs will balloon as those in charge will "make work" to justify an ever increasing bureaucracy and budget.
Remember they've already nationalized the student
loan industry.
They didn't nationalize the student loan program. They cut out the middle man. Banks are still free to loan money to students. They just can't go get federal money at very low interest rates and turn around and give it to students with a higher interest rate which is what they were doing. Personal loans are also still fine if a student wants to get it from a bank.
First of all, how is mandating that people buy private insurance the same as a government takeover? If anything, this a private industry takeover. Are people being told to buy into a government run program? No.
I don't like the mandate.
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Second, even if there had been a public insurance option, there's a huge difference between that and a private insurance company. The latter is concerned with making a profit which means they have a much stronger incentive to ration care.
I thought rationing care was that evil thing everyone was scared the govt would do. So the govt will have less incentive to ration care since they won't be trying to earn several billion per quarter.
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Third, insurance companies may not be looking out for the best interests of their customers, but neither are doctors. The fact is that we have a health care system that gives doctors a huge financial incentive to order more tests and procedures and prescribe more drugs.
I have specific health issues that made 2 prescription drugs contraindicated as specifically stated by the literature produced by the pharmaceutical company. My doctor agreed it would not be wise to use them. My insurance company wanted to save money and overruled the doctor. Tell me who is looking out for their pocket and who is looking out for my life in that situation.
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Fourth, for all the claims about we have a socialist health care system, keep in mind that the sharing of costs has nothing to do with government policy and everything to do with the financial realities of sharing a limited resource, in this case the resource is the health care system itself. If you had a population of 10 people, 9 of whom are healthy and 1 is always sick, then guess what? Those other 9 people will end up paying for the sick person one way or the other. That would be true even if you had no government involvement at all.
So yes, it is basically socialism except their is a private entity controlling it for profit. Either way, the cost is spread around and those who can't pay make it cost more for those who can. Or those who are sick make it cost more for those who are not. The cost is shared any way you cut it.
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Fifth, there were two critical elements missing from the latest reform. One is that our health care costs are going up because most Americans just aren't taking care of themselves. They eat poorly, don't exercise, drink too much, smoke too much, etc. But you'll never hear either political party tell the public it's their fault their health care system is so expensive. Two is that health insurance is still not subject to anti-trust law. Every state is dominated by one or two companies making it impossible to have any "free market" competition. Why this anti-trust exemption still exists is beyond me. Unfortunately, getting rid of it now might not do any good since setting up insurance in another state isn't so simple. It's not like setting up a Walmart.
Cost will go up regardless. They have been going up under private industry, they will go up with government involvement. People were not taking care of themselves before this bill and will not after.
I didn't say I LIKE the bill. I am simply saying I am not convinced it will make anything worse, and health care has already been harnessed into a pseudo-socialistic model by the insurance giants where there is simply a profit maker in place of the government at the top. I have no problem with profits. But when people act like insurance companies care about people and the government doesn't, thats just BS. Neither care that much IMO.
And the former has no reason to keep costs under control on two fronts. Firstly their is no accountability for where the money is coming from, they don't need to make a profit and could actually operate in the red indefinitely because the taxpayer will foot the bill. See the US postal service or Amtrak for two good examples.
Secondly as with any government run program administrative costs will balloon as those in charge will "make work" to justify an ever increasing bureaucracy and budget.
That is true and one of the reasons I don't like the govt involvement.
But my point is that the big scary talking point that "bureaucrats will be making your health care decisions for you based on cost" is already going on regularly by insurance reps. Either way, someone else who is not your doctor is telling you how you can be treated and what courses of action can be taken when they do not have your best health interest in mind.
Does the government provide it? NO.. so you dont have a clue.. search the forums for the number of "car insurance is socialism" threads before you continue to embarass yourself..
They didn't nationalize the student loan program. They cut out the middle man.
Translation: They nationalized the student loan program..
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Originally Posted by TXboomerang
Banks are still free to loan money to students. They just can't go get federal money at very low interest rates and turn around and give it to students with a higher interest rate which is what they were doing. Personal loans are also still fine if a student wants to get it from a bank.
Which makes it not a student loan, but a personal loan..
And the former has no reason to keep costs under control on two fronts. Firstly their is no accountability for where the money is coming from, they don't need to make a profit and could actually operate in the red indefinitely because the taxpayer will foot the bill. See the US postal service or Amtrak for two good examples.
Secondly as with any government run program administrative costs will balloon as those in charge will "make work" to justify an ever increasing bureaucracy and budget.
You could take just about any government job and hold it up to private sector comparison and they ALWAYS get paid less. The president of the USA gets paid less than the CEO of Apple computers. Who has the harder job?
The reason why there's a superficial appearance that those 'in charge' make work for themselves isn't because they're permitted to be in charge. Their boss is irrational. Their boss is we the people and politicians serving immediate gratification. The more irrational demands/ requests we put upon anything the more dysfunctional an organization becomes. Budgetary restraints are imposed upon them often more austerely than private sector. They also have the added bonus of being attacked by grandstanding politicians. Get paid less to take abuse from all directions sound fair to you? Having a clear organizational mandate established by we the people and having a fly by night politician interfering, (yet out the other side of his mouth blaming you for his orders) sound reasonable to you?
Private sector insurance doesn't make work, they make less work by diminishing services and paying themselves triple. There's no incentive to keep costs down so that all can afford to purchase, or so their customers can fully enjoy their side of the contract. They have nothing but incentive to keep whittling away at the coverage to continue profiteering with self service motive. They don't want all to purchase-- particularly not those in low paying hazardous/ physically orientated jobs. Those are the people who most need the coverage and least able to afford the premiums.
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