Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : A US National Health Care System? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: i-node who wrote (8817)	8/28/2009 8:02:06 PM
From: skinowski	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 42652

i>about the benefits end of MA The secret of their financial success is using same old fashioned barriers to access. All tests - and later consults with specialists - were subject to pre-approvals and pre-certifications. For many doctors I know they became - financially - the best part of the practice. Among other ways of saving money, HMO's abandoned DRG's and instead negotiated favorable daily rates with "network" hospitals. Generally, it was a pretty good deal for everyone. Even before Bush's Medicare part D most MA HMO's started offering quite decent prescription plans (Note - the need to compete with other Medicare HMO's was able to force them to offer those plans.... way before the advent of the wasteful Part D). At first, my favorite was Oxford Health Plans. They were very "pro-patient", and didn't say "no" to anything. Perhaps as a consequences, after a period of explosive growth at some point they almost went bankrupt. They fired the founder-CEO and restructured, became tougher - and, last I heard, still doing swell. Over time they all became harder to work with - because of the tightening criteria for tests and consultations.