VP Biden to Advocate Insurance Rate Review

All the proposals proposed by Biden will INCREASE rates and coverage for everyone. When you look at the insurance company audited financials, for both private and public, their bottom line profit is very small trailing the S&p 500 and other insurance companies.
They pay out the majority of their revenues as claims. Adding more items to pay out, will increase rates for everyone!

Everyone agrees we need reform but can someone please explain how a givernment plan will reduce cost. Will they pay doctors less, hospitals less, nurses less. If we spend 2 trillion dollars a year on health where are they gonna cut 1 trillion. Even if all the insurance companies together made a Billion in profit (which they don’t) where is the goverment gonna get the other 999 Billion dollars savings. So either it is coming from doctors and not lawyers since malpractice reform which is true reform is not part of the plan.

Florida did not have wage increases of 43%. Maybe for Mortgage industry that took advantage of everyone or Insurance Companies.
I would have the same wage of $10.00 per hour I made in 1997, “IF” I were employed, only now I would have to have a college degree to earn the same money for the same job. You can fool, some of the people, some of the time, but you can’t fool, all the people, all the time. I have lived in Florida for 25 years. Folks that earned $100,000 or more may have had a 43% increase.
The last time I had Medical coverage was in 1997. I paid $10.00 out-of pocket for a Doctor or Periodontist visit. I was paying about $35.00 per week for MAJOR MEDICAL it covered EVERYTHING for myself and 1 child.
How much are Insurance Big Shots being paid? What private jet did they take to the meeting or private dinner.
Let’s analyize “their” spending.
Insurance Companies of every sort have “had” more power than any American President in American history.
National and State Commissioners review rate increases? We the people should be doing the review for obvious reasons.

Profit and success have become dirty words to some people. Who killed the American dream?
It amazes me that people think insurance companies should be some type of charity. And it also amazes me that people think they have a “right” to the services provided by others.

The only way the Democrats can actually cut costs are to get rid of scooters, according to Claire McCaskill.
And maybe a system of death panels and solyent green processing plants.

You can’t get health care “reform”, without eliminating profiteering from health care. That means all “private” health care, has to be eliminated, removing the profits of practitioners, hospitals, and insurance companies, because all of the inflated costs of health care, are in the profits, those segments are earning.
Obama’s plan is not addressing that issue, so it cannot work.

Of course the Odumma administration wont consider tax cuts b/c its beholding to their own pockets.
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Not so. Listen to the President’s speech yesterday in Troy, NY about breaks for small business because that’s where innovative technology comes from. The Obama admin is very pro SMALL business but thinks BIG business needs some reining in — which it does.

So maybe wages would have risen as fast as primiums if our leaders haven’t been tryig to level the global playing field. Wages needed to go up in poorer country and be suppressed in the richer countries. The Democratic worldview is the root of the problem, not the insurance companies.
Midterm elections are coming up.
Time for American to rise up and put
some checks and balances into this
liberal led spending spree government.
“A government big enough to supply you with everything you need
is a government big enough to take away everything that you have
…. The course of history shows that as the government grows,
liberty decreases.”
Thomas Jefferson

“(Liberal Democrats are) all about paternalism and condescension, and the belief that a group of elites should be appointed to rule over the unwashed and unschooled masses for their own good.”
Why do the unwashed and unschooled defend this system when it is clearly not in their best interest? They are kept in their place with no hope for betterment.
At least Capitalism allows them the means for improvement. Capitalism is not “survival of the fittest,” it’s survival of the smartest, most innovative, and hardest working.
Isn’t that who we want to succeed?

why should a CEO of an HMO w/ an MBA make $40,000,000 what does he do? if you cannot give me a good reason or any reason then let this guy go fet a real job
this country need a single payer option medicare for all

-why should a CEO of an HMO w/an MBA make $40,000,000 a year?????????-
What the hell does Brad Pitt or Derek Jeter do? What the hell does Larry Summers or Rahm Emmanuel do? Learn to take care of yourself and stop whining.

Would somebody tell this friggin’ administration that insurance premiums rise in direct relation to “health care costs”? Holy crap these guys are loons. If our health care costs are so high, let’s take a look at costs of medical procedures and equipment, pharmaceuticals, tort reform, fraud, etc, you know actual “health care itself”. geez, a government run insurance company will not lower health care costs, it will only lower your premiums by a small percentage. It’s not rocket science.

Posted by: gus amaral | Sep 22, 2009 12:56:14 PM
Gus, start saving for a rainy day. Start living BENEATH your means. Stop spending money on nonsense and start looking after yourself. Besides, you have no idea of what people who post here have dealt with, so don’t assume things and make yourself sound stupid. Lose wome weight, and stop smoking and stop expecting the gov’t and my tax dollars to care for you and yours. Life is unfair, get used to it. The Gov’t can’t fix that. As for corportare billionaires, Obama sure had no problem meeting with them in SFO now did he? And Nancy Pelosi had no problem taking money from drug companies. And Ted Kennedy did care about you. From his compound…

WASHINGTON: “Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag on health-care policy, has pointed out that health-care premiums have risen by 300 percent over the past 30 years (and that’s after adjusting for inflation). Corporate profit per employee has soared by 200 percent. Hourly earnings for workers, adjusted for inflation, have fallen. The wage increases have been consumed by health-care costs.”

OK, so our Presidents little Insurance company lowers our premiums by say 20%. Now the insurance companies profits fall under record levels. But, health care costs have not been addressed. Do you really think a government run insurance company is going to force actual health care costs down? If you do, you’re dreaming.

Do you really think a government run insurance company is going to force actual health care costs down? If you do, you’re dreaming.
Posted by: lfrichar | Sep 22, 2009 1:23:20 PM
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yes, that’s the concept. If the government develops standards of care, to protect US citizens, we all benefit.

You are aware, are you not, that virtually every one of them,(with the possible exception of no gender discrimination) will INCREASE premiums?
Posted by: Bridget | Sep 22, 2009 1:50:01 PM
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really?…. how?

“”"”"yes, that’s the concept. If the government develops standards of care, to protect US citizens, we all benefit.”"”"”"
Posted by: gus amaral
It doesn’t address the price of care. We have the best medical care in the world, what we don’t have is access for all. The govt run insurance will address premiums, not cost of health care. The premiums cannot be reduced until the actual cost of health care that the insurance companies pay is reduced. We are not addressing the health care cost, we are addressing insurance premium costs. Catching on to they are 2 seperate animals yet?

“The govt run insurance will address premiums, not cost of health care. The premiums cannot be reduced until the actual cost of health care that the insurance companies pay is reduced. We are not addressing the health care cost, we are addressing insurance premium costs. Catching on to they are 2 seperate animals yet?” posted by lfrichar
Very nicely put.

Reform should start with one simple idea, letting people who have private insurance keep it as primary, even though they become eligible for Medicare. But Noooooo, we can’t make the insurance companies pay out on what they’re receiving a premium for… Nooooo that just wouldn’t be fair. Make Medicare primary and let the insurance companies get away with paying nothing while collecting a full premium from their customers … that needs to be “reformed”.. but it is NOT even mentioned in this whole health care reform debate… Congress is still in bed with the insurance companies and consumers are stupid if they think otherwise.

Bridget, I don’t agree with your ‘facts’.
1) No Discrimination for Pre-Existing Conditions;
You said, ‘Excluding people based on pre-existing conditions prevents people from doing without insurance until they are sick.”
In reality, insurance companies use this as a loophole, citing unreported previous health problems such as acne to deny treatment for cancer. It also leaves thousands who have lost their jobs, then got an illness, from receiving insurance at their new job.
Fortunately, most of the bills call for insurance for everyone.
2) No Exorbitant Out-of-Pocket Expenses, Deductibles or Co-Pays;
This is another way people are caught unawares when seriously ill. This will prevent a lot of bankruptcies over medical bills. Just as we force a minimum of auto insurance for all drivers, we need a minimum standard so folks don’t lose their shirt when facing a serious illness.

Lydia,
You said: “In reality, insurance companies use this as a loophole, citing unreported previous health problems such as acne to deny treatment for cancer.”
I’m familiar with this particular acne/cancer canard as fostered by the President, and it has been debunked. The woman in question concealed a heart condition from her insurance company.
Whether you believe it or not, Lydia, it is a fact that many people who can afford insurance opt to go without it for a variety of reasons. If they wish to do so, it’s fine with me, but I don’t want them to then be able to obtain the same insurance at the same cost as me once they have become ill, because that will increase my premiums.
You also said: “It also leaves thousands who have lost their jobs, then got an illness, from receiving insurance at their new job.”
Not if they maintain continuous creditable coverage during their unemployment through COBRA or through the purchase of individual coverage.
You said: “Fortunately, most of the bills call for insurance for everyone.”
Why, yes. And if insurance companies had the authority to force everyone to obtain coverage, they wouldn’t have to exclude slackers for preexisting conditions, now would they?
Regarding out-of-pocket, deductibles, co-pays, you said: “This is another way people are caught unawares when seriously ill. This will prevent a lot of bankruptcies over medical bills.”
Caught unawares? Sorry, I know exactly what my out-or-pocket, co-pays, and deductibles are, and I have opted for high ones so I pay low premiums. I’ve got no problem with people who want low ones opting for higher premiums, but let’s not pretend that mandating low ones is going to reduce premiums.
And I suspect that you will find that fewer people are bankrupted by their copays and deductibles than my ruinously expensive catastrophic illness, the purchase of insurance for which is cheap.

Lydia said “Extended Coverage for Young Adults, you misunderstand completely. We have this law in our state. It means that young adults are covered by their parent’s policies until they are 26, whether in college or not. This law is addressing the fact that young people frequently are in jobs that don’t provide health care insurance.”
Ok, my bad. That one doesn’t look like it will increase premiums.

Lydia —- So how is creating a government subsidized Insurance Program going to actually lower health care costs? is there mandates for maximum allowable prices on medical procedures? Mandates on executive pay. Mandates on pharmaceutical charges? Mandates on maximum mal-practice settlements? I am happy our government is trying to save us oh 20-30% in insurance premiums, but if the insurance companies continue to pay the rising costs of actual health care, our premiums have no where to go but up unless the insurance companies fail. Then, we all are required to be on Obama’s plan or be fined. Hmmm, I think we really need health care cost reform in a big way first. That is what drives insurance premiums.

I am sure we can find massive fraud in HUD, ACORN and others if we spend some resources to look. If we truly want to reform a system, then it needs to be complete reform. I have said this before “a system riddled with fraud, waste and abuse, when reformed will be riddled with fraud, waste and abuse”.

It seems that many may not see the US economy as a closed system. Before any reasonable discussion can be made, everyone must understand that it is a closed system and what that means.
Whether we are paying for healthcare, as a nation through premiums, “out of pocket” or through taxes is simply an accounting issue. Which ever way it gets paid, we still pay for it. We could all pay for auto insurance by paying that monthly insurance premium to the DMV, to the IRS, or to the auto insurance company. However, it still pays for two things, administrative costs and fixing cars. The same is true of health insurance. The end products are administrative and fixing people.
Whether the doctor provides penicillin to an uninsured patient with VD in the emergsery room or the doctors office, we still pay for it. Emergency room service for the uninsured is paid for by higher charges for hospital services to the insured or taxes from the county.
To put this in perspective, the GDP examines the total productivity in the US as a closed system and amounts to a current $85,000 per person per year in productivity while the average salary is about $40,000 a year.
The money supply in the US is eleven trillion dollars. If the money supply is doubled, the cost of everything doubles simply because there are twice as many dollars floating around. The price of a product represents a percentage of the money supply. Forces of supply and demand determine what this is, but it’s still just a percentage.
It is obviously impossible for sick people to work. That’s the point. And unless we intend to kill sick people directly or through neglect, we still cover the cost of medical care for sick people. Drivers are not required to have car insurance, the can have $35000 in the bank instead. Just as few people have $35000 in the bank, few people will possible have $140,000 in the bank to cover the cost of catestrophic care (my wife’s hospital bill at UC Davis Med Center after a auto collision). And neither will they be able to pay it off later. So, we do and will pay for the health care of the sick, injured, disabled and elderly. Even a 27 year old that opts out of health insurance does and will pay for the healthcare of others. I can guarantee you that my wife’s $140,000 hospital stay was paid for by everyone in the county including the uninsured working 27 year olds. Some came through state taxes, some through lower income as the employer paid rent to the property owner that paid county property estate taxes, some through increases in the cost of other goods and services as property taxes were passed on to the consumer.
It is a closed system, period. The rest is just accounting and currently the accounting is so convoluted that no one really knows how much they are really paying as an individual.
And you get bet that the more convoluted the flow of money through the system, the more people that are required just to do the basic administration, the more company CEOs that are able to get just that 5% more into their salaries, the more end service providers like doctors are able to elevate their income in their government sanctioned monopoly, and the more stock investors that are able to see that extra 5% return on their investment. For every path that the money flows, there are more people in the system taking their piece of the pie including federal, state, county, and city employees, managers and legislatures. The economic system of health care in the US is so convoluted that the only way to measure it is in terms of percentage of the GDP, percentage of the average income, and what were actually achieving.
Like the failed gasoline rationing of the ’70s; price control, regulations, and mandates are like squeezing Jello in you hand. The millions of added expense simply pops up somewhere else. Last I heard, there are 7,000+ lobbiests in D.C. I actually heard 14,000 from Rockafeller in an interview but can’t confirm that. They spend their every last minute with one singular focus, talking congressmen into things. It isn’t that Congress doesn’t try, it’s that they are unrelentlesly bombarded by the healthcare industry.
The manager of a grocery store pays health insurance. The grocery store pays rent to the property owner. The property owner pays property taxes. The property taxes pay for the hospital stay for the uninsured. The hospital pays the drug companies for all the medications, stints, IVs, bedpans, and on and on. And both the health insurance companies that insure all those union workers at the grocery store along with the drug companies spend 1.4 million a day lobbying Congress. And it isn’t that any of these people are evil or acting with ill intent. We have a free market system. Businesses do what businesses do. Our system is based on the selfish motivations of the individual. We rely on it.
What do you suppose all this does to the price of a six pack of beer? You think the 27 year old without insurance doesn’t pay for other people’s health care? You think that because you opted for the high deductable insurance that you aren’t? (though your probably a cautious consumer) Honestly, I understood this conceptually when I started out on this essay. Now, having thought about it in detail, I understand, as you must now, exactly how bad it really is.
Oh, by the way, the concept that the “free-market” reduces prices to a minimum is not correct. There is no basis for this belief nor has any economist ever claimed it. Free markets distribute goods efficiently because individuals work in there own selfish interest and we can rely on this as a minumum.
Low prices only come from easy entry markets and products without efficiency of scale. All health care products and markets are not easy entry. Insurance is, by it’s nature, a product with efficiency of scale. Efficiency of scale results in ologopies, duopolies and monopolies that can control prices. There is nothing about health care products that put the balance of market power into the hands of the consumer.