Profits of the evil health care insurance companies

Well, first of all, the central inference behind the need to pass Obamacare is the millions of Americans who are currently NOT insured... Not the fact that insurers are gouging us. So I really find no need to read the article in its entirety if the writer doesn't know what he's talking about.
 
Rob Henderson said:
Well, first of all, the central inference behind the need to pass Obamacare is the millions of Americans who are currently NOT insured... Not the fact that insurers are gouging us. So I really find no need to read the article in its entirety if the writer doesn't know what he's talking about.
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Except Obama yesterday went after the evil profiteering insurance companies, trying to stir up the torch & pitchfork crowd. That's what Community Organizers do.
 
So he talked about it. So what? Politicians talk a lot. It's what they're good at. There is not just one reason we need healthcare reform. It's not JUST because the insurance companies are "gouging us," it's not JUST because there are so many million Americans who are currently uninsured, it's not JUST because we want it. There are several key contributing factors, none of which can be named the single most important reason.
 
Guys let's just bury this subject because we've gone down this road many times before. If some folks are perfectly fine with forking out far too much money that does very little work then that's just the way it is.
 
the_13th_redneck said:
Guys let's just bury this subject because we've gone down this road many times before. If some folks are perfectly fine with forking out far too much money that does very little work then that's just the way it is.
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I wouldnt care Redneck if people are too stupid to allow themselves get robbed. Its the old saying "A fool and his money are soon parted".

The problem is that these people are making it impossible for people who DO want affordable healthcare from actually getting it.

Case in point, the Public Option Plan that Harry Reid pushed had a "opt out" option and that still wasn't good enough. The fact is insurence industry does not want low income people from getting healthcare, because there profit line would undoubtably suffer. So they organize this astro turf campaign to make sure that it never sees the light of day.

Either they would have to lower premiums to compete, or they would have to raise service level. They are perfectly happy with the status quo.
 
Yeah.
I understand why people would be skeptical about their government.
What baffles me is why the same people put so much faith in the ethics of the private sector.
 
A Can of Man said:
Yeah.
I understand why people would be skeptical about their government.
What baffles me is why the same people put so much faith in the ethics of the private sector.
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Thats an excellent point. The current economic crisis is a direct result of the FAILURE of the private sector. The rightwing would make us believe that corporate America has all the answers but cannot explain why in the past 40 years the American healthcare system is such a shambles.

I am in between socialism and capitalism, something are better run from the private sector, healthcare isnt one of them. The countries with the best healthcare insurence plan (not quality of care though its not bad either) are those countries with government run healthcare systems. They are both less expensive and cover more people.

I have been living in France for 12 years, the French healthcare system is vastly superior to anything we have back at home and we should steal it.

Or we can do it the Sarah Palin way: sneak into Canada for free healthcare, (free for us, not so free for the Canadian taxpayer).
 
It's not black or white.
And for the millionth time. Look at all the posts I have said about how free enterprise is the ONLY way that wealth is generated. Without wealth generation, we live in abject poverty.
Seriously.
Why do I have to explain this EVERY TIME when I make a criticism about the private sector?
The private sector is great but it is not the answer to every problem.
 
Ever heard of something called competition?

It's what the private sector of insurance companies lacks SEVERELY. Or premiums would be going DOWN, not UP.
 
KnightTemplar said:
All while trying to pass a bill making it ILLEGAL not to spend your money on the same "evil profiteering insurance companies". That makes a lot of sense.
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I was wondering if you were by chance a Wellpoint client? Their premiums went up 39% this year. You Should check your statements but I'd be willing to bet you've seen a modest to high increase in what you pay over the past few years. This is what happens when Big Corporations are left to their own devices with no regulation and no competition.
 
mmarsh said:
I was wondering if you were by chance a Wellpoint client? Their premiums went up 39% this year. You Should check your statements but I'd be willing to bet you've seen a modest to high increase in what you pay over the past few years. This is what happens when Big Corporations are left to their own devices with no regulation and no competition.
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No regulation?A big part of the problem is each State mandates exactly what has to be covered. There is competetion, but not across State lines, something Republicans have proposed doing away with. Dick Durban admitted yesterday that even if ObamaCare passes, rates will still go up.
 
George said:
No regulation?A big part of the problem is each State mandates exactly what has to be covered. There is competetion, but not across State lines, something Republicans have proposed doing away with. Dick Durban admitted yesterday that even if ObamaCare passes, rates will still go up.
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George, if you are going to Quote someone please use the FULL Quote otherwise one might think you are deliberately trying to mislead people..

What Durbin said was this:

"Of course premiums will go up...but what we are trying to do is slow the rate of increase". Which is exactly what healthly competition is suppose to do..bring costs down. What Durbin was saying was that Obama's plan was no overnight fix.

There is competition? How can there be competition when the heathcare industry is only one of two industries that are immune from federal antitrust laws (the other industry is MLB)? Its like "the commission" in NYC organized crime used to be. The major heads all sit together and discuss how to run the industry without stepping onto each others territory without fear of government intervention.

This is economics 101, you cant control prices if there is no competition in the market. And you can tell there is no competition because rates have gone up 131% in the past ten years. It is simply impossible for you to tell us there is heathly competition when heathcare premiums are rising faster than peoples actual income. Only monopolies do this.
 
mmarsh said:
George, if you are going to Quote someone please use the FULL Quote otherwise one might think you are deliberately trying to mislead people..

What Durbin said was this:

"Of course premiums will go up...but what we are trying to do is slow the rate of increase". Which is exactly what healthly competition is suppose to do..bring costs down. What Durbin was saying was that Obama's plan was no overnight fix.

There is competition? How can there be competition when the heathcare industry is only one of two industries that are immune from federal antitrust laws (the other industry is MLB)? Its like "the commission" in NYC organized crime used to be. The major heads all sit together and discuss how to run the industry without stepping onto each others territory without fear of government intervention.

This is economics 101, you cant control prices if there is no competition in the market. And you can tell there is no competition because rates have gone up 131% in the past ten years. It is simply impossible for you to tell us there is heathly competition when heathcare premiums are rising faster than peoples actual income. Only monopolies do this.
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The profit margins certainly don't show any killing being made. How much of the increases are caused by Govt mandates, how much by frivolous lawsuits & preposterious jury awards? I don't see a lot of diffrence between my paraphrase & your quote, bills will go up. How is Govt spending billions going to bring down costs? Not through govt efficientcy(snicker).
 
Now you're assuming that the private sector will be very efficient.
This is not the case when there is no true competition.
 
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