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Strategies & Market Trends : Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: mishedlo who wrote (110410)	4/7/2010 8:28:34 PM
From: Hawkmoon	Respond to of 116555

At the same time, health insurers argue that government is forcing them to sell policies at a loss that is unsustainable as the costs of medical services climb. THIS is where the REAL problem lies, IMO. Insurers, who derive profit and overhead by limiting coverage to people already in good health to the most "profitable" policy holders. They also jack up premiums to astronomical levels so that policy holders "voluntarily" drop their coverage due to inability to carry the premiums (as happened to my cousin who has a deadly genetic disease-Leiden Factor V- and is now on Medicaid, and who's husband now has to avoid making more money than Medicaid allows). voices.washingtonpost.com And costs have YET to come under control. If hospitals can avoid competitive pressures, and continue to raise their fees, it's a no-brainer that insurance premiums are going to rise. I'm not going to pretend I have all the answers, but my gut tells me that insurers are not particularly inclined to work on controlling costs since the larger the bill, the more their percentage "cut" of profit is (certainly in the case of Medicare) and likely in the case of private care. Hawk