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

To: Lane3 who wrote (14354)	3/11/2010 6:55:07 AM
From: Road Walker	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 42652

What we have in the pending legislation is a prepaid health care model as above. Except there is no longer any underwriting. Mandated community rating and guaranteed issue effectively obviate the practice of underwriting. So we have "insurance" companies that no longer underwrite risk and policies that cover the equivalent of oil changes. That isn't insurance any more. It has lost the fundamental functionality that defines the concept of insurance. We really should quit using that word for it. It's become a misnomer and it clouds the paradigm changes being made. This isn't much different than the current employer provided insurance benefit, which is the bulk of health insurance policies in the country. The only real underwriting being done is the minority that is forced to buy insurance independently.

To: Lane3 who wrote (14354)	3/11/2010 10:55:40 AM
From: RetiredNow	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 42652

That's a very good explanation of your points. Thx for the clarification. I'd have to agree then that we're moving away from a market based approach to pricing health insurance to a paradigm that looks more like government controls on utilities that sell electricity today. That's not a good thing and it means that my family, which is active and healthy and slim, will be paying for all the fat, unhealthy Americans out there who don't take care of themselves. I don't like that one bit.