Does anyone understand basic economics these days? I'm thinking "no". Consider this: People say they like the parts of Obamacare that eliminate the $1M lifetime cap on insurance company's liability, they like the part about removing pre-existing conditions as an excuse for denying coverage, they like the part about seniors saving on prescription drugs, they like being able to keep their kids on their policy until age 26....but they are vehemently opposed to the idea of requiring everyone to purchase health insurance (the individual mandate). "It's just un-American. The damn government has no business telling me what I have to do. This is supposed to be a free country!"
How do people expect insurance companies to stay in business if they take on unlimited liability, cover all the sick and infirm, and give away Rx drugs if they don't take in a lot more money to cover these costs? There are only 2 ways to get more money....raise premiums 300-400% (?) or broaden their base of insured by signing up all those healthy 20-somethings who think they're bullet-proof and don't need insurance.
You know people aren't going to stand for dramatically higher insurance premiums, which leaves only the individual mandate as a viable way to increase cash flow. You can't have the perks without paying for them. There's no free lunch. This is NOT an endorsement of Obamacare per se, but it does at least start the discussion about what needs to be changed and how we're going to pay for it.
You want to get health care costs down? Try this....I guarantee it will work: Repeal the Emergency Medical Treatment Act of 1986. That's the law that requires hospitals to treat anyone who walks in for "emergency" care, whether they can pay for it or not. Doing that would save BILLIONS (trillions?) of dollars. I'd love to see a show of hands of all those who would turn away a mother with a sick child or the innocent victim of an accident or a violent crime. You can't pick and choose between the truly needy and those who can afford insurance but are just having too much fun to bother buying it. You're the "death squad". Anyone....?
S
Showing posts with label Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act. Show all posts
Friday, June 29, 2012
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Healthcare talk
Any day now the U S Supreme Court will hand down their decision declaring all or parts of "Obamacare" to be unconstitutional or allowing it to stand as-is. Regardless of the ruling, about 1/2 of the people are going to be unhappy. Me?....I'm somewhere right in the middle. I don't think the system we have now is working well enough to remain unchallenged, but I don't have an alternative to offer, either. If you don't have insurance or can't get it, you know how dire the situation is. If you're one of the lucky few who have insurance AND deep enough pockets that would enable you to absorb any after-insurance expenses, you obviously don't see the problem, but you should never forget.....things can change in a hurry.
I have a friend who at age 61 had double-bypass surgery. He had insurance and could easily handle the co-pay, but the next year he was laid off his upper management job of 25+ years, with his termination package giving him just one more year of company insurance after that. (His deep suspicion was his company wanted him gone due to his health liability.) With his medical and family history he couldn't buy health insurance on the open market. He bought into a state "last-resort" policy, but that soon proved unaffordable so he went "naked" until Medicare kicked in at age 65. Every ache and pain sent him into panic mode. He never thought he'd find himself in that position.
On the other hand I don't have confidence in our government to manage much of anything efficiently. The Obamacare bill is...what...2,700 pages long? Can anyone really, REALLY understand it? I know the UK, Canada, Australia, and some others have universal government-run programs that seem to have a lot of good points, but they also have some well-documented problems, too, such as the fact they're breaking the bank.
Then there's the matter of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act of 1986. This law requires almost all hospitals to treat anyone walking in seeking medical attention. It was meant to cover true emergencies, but now is being used to treat colds, the flu, etc. Hospitals and doctors have billions of dollars in un-collectable write-offs. Did you know that >60% of bankruptcies are due to medical bills people can't pay? And that 78% of those are by people who had insurance but couldn't pay for all those things not covered by their insurance? And besides the obvious hit to doctors and hospitals, bankruptcy is a drain on our economy in a bigger sense, too. Those who have gone through it find it difficult or impossible to buy a house, a car....pretty much anything that requires credit. These are potential big-ticket consumers who will NOT be helping grow our economy.
Just some thoughts for you to consider. IMO, regardless of what the Supreme Court decides, SOMETHING needs to be done about healthcare in America. I wish there was a simple answer.
S
I have a friend who at age 61 had double-bypass surgery. He had insurance and could easily handle the co-pay, but the next year he was laid off his upper management job of 25+ years, with his termination package giving him just one more year of company insurance after that. (His deep suspicion was his company wanted him gone due to his health liability.) With his medical and family history he couldn't buy health insurance on the open market. He bought into a state "last-resort" policy, but that soon proved unaffordable so he went "naked" until Medicare kicked in at age 65. Every ache and pain sent him into panic mode. He never thought he'd find himself in that position.
On the other hand I don't have confidence in our government to manage much of anything efficiently. The Obamacare bill is...what...2,700 pages long? Can anyone really, REALLY understand it? I know the UK, Canada, Australia, and some others have universal government-run programs that seem to have a lot of good points, but they also have some well-documented problems, too, such as the fact they're breaking the bank.
Then there's the matter of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act of 1986. This law requires almost all hospitals to treat anyone walking in seeking medical attention. It was meant to cover true emergencies, but now is being used to treat colds, the flu, etc. Hospitals and doctors have billions of dollars in un-collectable write-offs. Did you know that >60% of bankruptcies are due to medical bills people can't pay? And that 78% of those are by people who had insurance but couldn't pay for all those things not covered by their insurance? And besides the obvious hit to doctors and hospitals, bankruptcy is a drain on our economy in a bigger sense, too. Those who have gone through it find it difficult or impossible to buy a house, a car....pretty much anything that requires credit. These are potential big-ticket consumers who will NOT be helping grow our economy.
Just some thoughts for you to consider. IMO, regardless of what the Supreme Court decides, SOMETHING needs to be done about healthcare in America. I wish there was a simple answer.
S
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