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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (321674)	8/29/2009 3:26:36 AM
From: Nadine Carroll	3 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 794207

Why doesn't everyone forget about insurance and just buy medical treatment the way they buy groceries, cars, education, houses, tradesmen, vacations and so on To quote an old New England line: Ye can't git thar from hyar.

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (321674)	8/29/2009 6:56:54 AM
From: Bearcatbob	3 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 794207

Maurice, The problem with medical care is that it is too expensive. It simply cannot be paid for out of pocket by the vast majority of Americans. It truly is a problem that needs to be addressed. As a retire I have a subsidized policy that is still expensive on a monthly basis. It is a good policy. The crunch comes from the reality that if my policy were given to everyone many could still not afford it as there are deductibles that would make it clearly not a "universal" policy. What we need is an honest and open national discussion - not 1200 pages of special interest love. The issue has been demonized beyond the point where the problem is being discussed. It is not simple. It is not something that should be done so the clowns in Washington can go on vacation. The delay to September was the best possible thing. What comes next will be interesting. Obama will again have a chance to be a leader or simply a beautiful sounding teleprompter reader. Perhaps what is needed is some catastrophic policy that is federal in basis that would not take away the nature basic health care is provided. In addition perhaps clinics where people can go for some sort of public care. Neither of those would destroy the current private system that for me has worked so well. If nothing else - whatever is passed needs to be honesty defined, honestly priced and honestly paid for. I fear none of those 3 things will happen. Bob

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (321674)	8/29/2009 7:39:48 AM
From: skinowski	2 Recommendations Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 794207

Insurance companies have to make lots of money, there's a huge administrative cost, there are taxes to be paid on all the salaries of those involved in managing the insurance, there are crooks doing fake claims, puffing the costs, there are high risk people who are subsidized by low risk people [like me] LOL! This just about describes it. Add to that two large armies of malpractice lawyers, both the litigators and the defenders... add the hidden costs of defensive medicine. Add the (huge) costs of compliance with the incredibly complicated - and for most part useless - government regulations, which come at many levels, from local to federal... Before you know, you're talking about real money. It's not very pleasant or wise to depend on a government department for medical treatment. Is that so? We're about to create a new such department, a very large one. We'll let you know how it works out.

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (321674)	8/29/2009 10:05:22 AM
From: Brumar89	3 Recommendations Respond to of 794207

The profits aren't that big: Health insurance company PROFIT per enrollee: Wellpoint $72.83 Humana $57.27 Aetna $84.82 Per Donald Sensing senseofevents.blogspot.com and the-american-catholic.com I previously calculated United Healths PROFIT per enrollee at just under $43. As for administrative costs, if everyone only insured for high cost catastrophic care and paid for all the little stuff out of pocket, those administrative costs would be a lot smaller. Suppose we processed a claim against our car insurance for all the maintenance on a car or against homeowners insurance for each occasion of routine repairs and replacements. Those insurance costs would be a hell of a lot higher.

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (321674)	8/29/2009 2:46:21 PM
From: KLP	Respond to of 794207

There are lots of reasons for the medical situation Mq, as I'm sure you know from following the US business for as long as you have. First, I posted this last night, and I think the fairly well known blogger has his finger on part of the problem and situation.... Message 25901437 Our government has been taking money for SS from the checks of any who have worked since FDR days, and today the government takes more and more for not only SS, but Medicare, and all the other taxes....The "poor people" don't pay any federal income tax, and do get federal subsidies...many of these are on Medicaid. The bottom 50% of the people in this country, pay only 4% of the total Federal Tax Bill our Congress keeps adding to the woe. Then we have to add in all the State and Local taxes, adding up to more than 50% of EVERY dollar we earn goes to taxes, BEFORE we do anything for our families...i.e. food, shelter, clothing, transportation, insurance, ETC... Added to that, any worker born after LBJ signed the Medicare Bill in the 60's, has been paying tax along with their employer, specifically for Medicare insurance for their 65+ years. The Federal workers, and many State and Municipal workers didn't start paying even SS until the early 80's...I'm not sure when this group started paying into Medicare. What Government Medicare has done to the insurance industry is made it nearly IMPOSSIBLE for anyone 65+ to even find any competitive medical insurance that ISN'T Medicare. Unless it's a Medicare Advantage program, and this is the area Obama wants to shut down.... Another problem for everyone, Medicare age or not, is that the Hospitals and many Doctors and other health care providers, set the rules by Medicare requirement....So even if the general public knows it or not, they are following the same guidelines that CONGRESS (not the insurance companies) wrote over the years!!!! The Insurance companies don't write the guidelines....MEDICARE and the scribes within that section of the Government, DO write them. My point is, if the Government takes 50% or more of a workers money, and redistributes that money to those that don't bother for whatever reason working, then how are those who do carry the major burden of taxpaying, provide all the necessary things for themselves and their families....?