Private Insurance Companies Already Quash Competition

[KrazyHorse]

And? Why does that seem like such a tragedy to you?

Also, I have no idea what that has to do with health insurance being a competitive market. The MORE dominant a single insurance company was, the less likely that would be to happen.

[Guynemer]

Two points: I halfway agree with you.

It is not a free market, as most people can not freely choose their doctor. So, yes, in that sense, I would prefer a single insurance company.

[Kuciwalker]

It's not a market at all for doctors. It's a market for insurance.

[Dinner]

DD beat me to it. Remove State-line hurdles.

That is virtually impossible since 50 states each have different regulatory systems in place. If you want to standardize things on a Federal level (I thought you were a conservative so it seems strange you're opting for big government) then that's going to be near political suicide when everyone in each state learns how big the changes really will be.

[KrazyHorse]

It's not a market at all for doctors. It's a market for insurance.

Very good, young padawan. Now take the next step and explain who the consumers of this insurance are...

[korn469]

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200909/health-care Interesting article I read recently about a better method of funding health care. Basically its premise is that paying for health care with insurance destroys market forces and drives up cost while driving down quality of outcomes. I don't know if he's right or not, but I think he may be on to something. I don't think any of the health care reform proposals will really worked. I like Obama, I voted for him in the election, but so far I'm disappointed in his policies. Congress as a collective is one of the most ineffective, dumbest, myopic, group of educated successful people ever. Obama's choice to leave health care reform to them was a horrible decision.

[Zkribbler]

Doctors who are full-time employees of an HMO or similar organization obviously can't work for the competition, but I have no idea how you can possibly claim that doctors who make up only a small minority of the total are so important.

Read your previous post, where you point out that most people are insured through their employers. How can "most people" go to "a small minority" of doctors?

I think I'll sit back and watch you debate yourself.

[Dinner]

I'm a bit disappointed too mainly because he always tries to be so damn centrist and bipartisan with everything. There is a reason the Demos control everything by such wide margins and it isn't because the people love Republican ideas (or lack there of) so much. Every time Obama tries to do something centrist he starts in the middle then the Republicans go ape **** super far right and the bill is either made massively worse or it doesn't pass at all because he pisses off the centrists and liberals. What he needs to do is just put the best damn plan forward and not care if the Rethugs like it or not because no matter what the Dems put forward the party of no will continue to be obstructionist so ****'em.

[Kuciwalker]

Read your previous post, where you point out that most people are insured through their employers. How can "most people" go to "a small minority" of doctors?

I think I'll sit back and watch you debate yourself.

Doctors who accept insurance != doctors directly employed by an HMO.

Moron.

[KrazyHorse]

Read your previous post, where you point out that most people are insured through their employers. How can "most people" go to "a small minority" of doctors?

I think I'll sit back and watch you debate yourself.

EDIT: that might have been a bit harsh, even for me. See Kuci's post above for a more measured response.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Switch to a single-payor (e.g. government funded) health system like every other industrialized nations.

Every? Switzerland is suddenly not industrialized?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/17/opinion/17krugman.html

Finally, the third route to universal coverage relies on private insurance companies, using a combination of regulation and subsidies to ensure that everyone is covered. Switzerland offers the clearest example: everyone is required to buy insurance, insurers can’t discriminate based on medical history or pre-existing conditions, and lower-income citizens get government help in paying for their policies.

[Az]

Every? Switzerland is suddenly not industrialized?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/17/opinion/17krugman.html

Finally, the third route to universal coverage relies on private insurance companies, using a combination of regulation and subsidies to ensure that everyone is covered. Switzerland offers the clearest example: everyone is required to buy insurance, insurers can’t discriminate based on medical history or pre-existing conditions, and lower-income citizens get government help in paying for their policies.

plus they are non-profit, IIRC.

[KrazyHorse]

There are non-profit private insurers in the US, Az.

[Kuciwalker]

In fact, the largest insurer (BlueCross BlueShield) is nonprofit.

IIRC the majority of health insurance providers are nonprofit, though I have no cite for that.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Damn these mergers and squeezing out of the small guys:

For Immediate Release
U.S. Government Unveils Health Care Partnership With God Inc.

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Government CEO Barack Obama announced today that his firm had embarked on a new joint venture with metaphysical industrial giant God, saying that "We are God’s partners in matters of life and death."

"This partnership is a natural," said Obama. "We both are unfathomably large, we both control people's lives, we both work in mysterious ways, we both have a fanatical customer base. Instead of competing, it just made basic business sense to work together to become the premier developer of mission critical life-and-death operating systems."

The announcement came before the annual GodCon trade show in Las Vegas, where Obama gave a product demo of the iGod heath care rationing device, the first of what he said would be "many development projects" between US Government and God. He encouraged independent God developers to support the closed-source iGod / iGov health care platform, warning that "woe be unto the unlicensed app developer, for he shall be smote by a vengeful hail of ACORNs."

Other iGod apps currently in beta test include an end-of-life calculator, income leveler, and a wireless database detector for anti-government heretics and apostates.

"I believe this exciting health care partnership opportunity with the Almighty will be every bit as successful as our previous peace partnerships in the Middle East, and will pave the way for an eventual merger," said Obama. No date has been set for Government-God merger plans, but the FTC has signalled it would give quick approval.

To finance the project, Obama said US Government would seek US$2 trillion in a 103rd round of involuntary venture capital.

Headquartered in Washington DC, U.S. Government (NASDAQ: USAGOV) employs over 4,000,000 full time workers, with projected 2009 revenues of US$1.7 trillion and EBITDA of (minus) $2.1 trillion. Founded in 1789, the firm produces a diversified portfolio of products and services including military operations, postal delivery, free money, automobiles, and I.O.U.s. Its Health Care division has been in business since 1965.

God, Inc. is a privately traded, infinitely dimensionless enterprise headquartered on the ethereal plane, and has been the largest vendor of corporeal reality, including life and death, since its founding at the alpha origin of time. Its financial prospectus and mission statement were unavailable at press time.