Why do People Want to keep Private Insurance over Govt

You didn't answer my question, which asked for a comparison.

 

impossible? I should call my dad and tell him that.

It is not impossible it is just dumb. He could easily carry his insurance past 65 but there is no reason to when medicare is basically free in comparison.

 

Except elderly people are the most expensive to care for. If private insurance had to care for them, they'd either have to charge them astronomical rates that no one could afford, or they'd have to raise the rates on everyone to subsidize them.

Having Medicare reduces the net strain on private insurance costs. And they still are spiraling out of control.

 

I submit it's not impossible, just highly unlikely - your father's situation notwithstanding.

As for the argument of "dumb", well - that's the point. As a counter to the lack of easy-to-find coverage for the majority elderly citizens, medicare works as intended. And far more efficiently.

EDIT: Good point major ^^^.

 

Uhh it asked this

I gave you two massive freaking reasons.

 

It pays 80% of the medical costs. The other costs when not paid by the patients are absorbed by the private system.

 

The last couple hundred years of economic data proves you to be dead wrong.


There is no greater way to stifle innovation, reduce productivity, and lower the value given to the consumer than to remove the profit incentive.

Apply it to your own life -- how hard will you be willing to work if you weren't able to earn money over and above your level of expenses?

 

But you failed to say how medicare is any more of a complete clusterfail than this:

* spending more private $ per person for healthcare than any other of the 22 developed economies in the world, while simultaneously ranking LAST in that group for lifespan and health indicators.

* See healthcare costs compared to, say, CPI. (original article in the Omaha World-Herald)


Bats example is bad enough, but it's very hard to find a good example. I've had (and I'm blessed) just one medical issue in ten years. My back. Instead of surgery, my doctor prescribed seeing an excellent physical therapist. A sports medicine type of PT who actually works with Berkeley athletics. So I am fixed for a few $115 sessions with her. No surgery. I fill out all paperwork, it's an allowed expense, and I've still yet to receive one $ from Blue Cross. I've spent more time trying to recover $345 over 3 years than I should have, so I give up. Just another stupid example. I waste hours and hours of time, and the system (supposedly a good insurance plan) won't pay $345 to avoid a five or six-digit back surgery.

 

Spoken like a young healthy and unaware guy. Lot's of people are healthy at that age. They somehow think that this is due to their sound moral character or whatever.

 

You gave me reasons why medicare is a failure, but not why medicare is more of a failure than private insurance, which is what I asked.

 

My understanding is that medicare stops breaking even (spending more than it takes in via taxes) this year. How does that correspond to "billions in debt"?

I would agree that some form of tax-adjustment to accomodate the baby-boomer generation is needed, or a method to reduce medical costs. The former is highly unpopular, the latter is politically dicey too.

 

Insurance is a scam. It only works because healthy people subsidize the unhealthy ones.

 

The only way insurance companies make money is denying people's claims. They bring no innovation to the table.

 

Hehe, when more people are using the benefits than aren't, the companies start to lose money.

Private insurance CAN do light years better than government funded. But the problem is will those in that field(even doctors) do what is necessary to reach that goal before it gets so bad that the government has to step in. I just don't think they will.

 

hmmmmm...there's more to insurance than merely the amount they pay out.

i have life insurance i pray my family will not NEVER need during the term of the policy. but, i can tell you i sleep easier paying the premium each month hoping the policy never pays.

 

From Princeton Economist Uwe Reinhardt



So sure, we are more wealthy and can afford to spend more on health care. The 24 members of the OECD are plotted on that (ugly, Excel) graph. Look how f*ed we are. Just ridiculous.

I am sympathetic to "well, the government can't fix it." But propose something else -- what we have sux too hard not to change it, even if we have to set it on fire as a citizenry.

 

1) I have great insurance. My wife and I pay about $1,000 a month for her and my son and me, with my wife's HISD discount for a super HMO in which we don't have to go through a gate keeper to see a specialist.

2) The government can do as well and cheaper.

3) This is the real clicker. I talk to people all day long who do not have insurance. It enrages me. I am not a young conservative or libertarian trained to believe this is just natural.

4) The system suck for many.

5) Our choice of doctors has gradually been restricted, but is still pretty good. For many it sucks.

6) Unlike TJ and others who rely on bumpersticker conservative ideology I have studied this a lot and Medicare for instance has a less than 5% overhehad, private insurers including profits have an overead of 25% and just are a waste of health care dollars.

If Obama can get national health, a grateful population will sink the GOP for a generation and this is one reason heartless GOP operatives oppose him on this.

 

IIRC, medical costs are increasing ~10% per year. That's simply not sustainable. I don't think it's entirely out of the question to postulate that some of this excessive cost is born out of treatments that are, legitimately, very expensive. To balance this out, insurance companies raise premiums to compensate for those huge procedures (and giving themselves a tidy profit). Fair enough.... BUT the insurance companies also CAP out a maximum lifetime benefit. That (to me) is having your cake and eating it too.

Fundamentally, I'm not opposed to simply saying that some procedures are too expensive and are not covered by insurance (the caveat being the elimination of program "capping"). Naturally, this means the rich have access to more medical options. I find that unfair - but life isn't fair. I've made peace with that.