37 replies to this topic

[HNIC]

Across the board I have seen health care premiums double, my ex and daughters almost tripled, a friend that is a small business owners doubled for his whole staff (and yes he had to do lay offs because of it). I know that the conservatives are all over this in the news but I havent heard a peep from any of the liberal media or friends. Just wondering?

[Jacki O.]

yeah my premium went from $250 (which i had for years) to $1500 last year.

fucking insane

[donald]

yeah my premium went from $250 (which i had for years) to $1500 last year.

fucking insane

Mine is similar, if single, it would be 1500, but I cover my kids so it's 3K

[Jacki O.]

yeah my premium went from $250 (which i had for years) to $1500 last year.

fucking insane

Mine is similar, if single, it would be 1500, but I cover my kids so it's 3K

fuck! im so happy i had an abortion!

[Tony]

i don't know how much of this is an actual cost of doing business vs. the health care companies saying "screw you, this is what you get for passing the healthcare reform" (because they didn't seem to be in favor of it). a lot of that healthcare reform doesn't take full effect for several years - so did the costs really triple immediately? i don't know.

it's too convoluted to be able to pinpoint the exact piece of legislation that caused this spike.

[joe.distort]

the whole systems gonna collapse on itself, but not until it gets so expensive that people just stop going.

i have worked in healthcare for 10 years, and theres one thing that never gets addressed in all of this: the doctors and hospitals and other ancilliary providers. they are the problem in the equation, second only to these insurance companies. the fact of the matter is that the industry has become so linked to health insurance which has driven up costs of everything, that no one really discusses what it should be like: healthcare reform should nor mean everyone HAS to have ins. it should mea people can afford care. until these docs concede that maybe, just maybe, making over $100,000 dollars a year is a huge luxury and not an entitlement, the first steps toward change will never happen.

the other alternative: everyone stop paying insurance companies, doctors and hospitals. too bad i dont think thats gonna happen anytime soon.

EDIT-i think the companies were actually ok with the 'reform' that passed since all it requires is that everyone MUST have coverage instead of opting out.

[HNIC]

Well it looks like I'm gonna drop mine, cuz its more important to keep the lil' one covered. This little experiment worked well.

[chalupacabra]

That's what we get for not having a gov't run option that people could buy into, not doing anything to break up the monopolies that carriers have in most states etc, etc, etc

[HNIC]

So your take is that its the last capitalist fleecing before a real changing of the guard? Almost cant buy into that as of late either.

[joe.distort]

but there IS a government run option. one that a large chnk of senators,congressmen and lawmakers (and 'anti socialist' dipshits) already use. its Medicare. too bad its only for those over 65.

hmmmm if i had money i think this may be a legit class action suit. ive never thought about that before.

So your take is that its the last capitalist fleecing before a real changing of the guard? Almost cant buy into that as of late either.

nah, i think it will continue limping along as more people realize they arent as middle class as they think and collapse sometime in the next 60 years.

[chalupacabra]

but there IS a government run option. one that a large chnk of senators,congressmen and lawmakers (and 'anti socialist' dipshits) already use. its Medicare. too bad its only for those over 65.

That's my point. The framework even exists already, it just needs to be opened to everyone. Sucks.

[Rial]

[Tony]

So your take is that its the last capitalist fleecing before a real changing of the guard? Almost cant buy into that as of late either.

i'm not sure if you were directing this at me or not...

i don't think of it as the last fleecing before the guard changes - maybe a more accurate way is to say that the companies are using this big convoluted healthcare debate as an excuse to increase premiums because people will say "oh, yeah, that's right - we did a bunch of shit with healthcare so of course costs will increase". how am i to know? i don't even understand the healthcare bill entirely.

sort of like how gas costs increase when something happens in iraq - even though we don't get oil from iraq. people just say "oh, yeah, that's right - all the oil is over there, so of course costs will increase." it's because we're all fucking idiots.

[John MFer]

Like most problems in this country it starts with a greedy consumer. A doctor makes a minor error, and gets sued for malpractice. The consumer sees an opportunity, and with a sleazy enough lawyer, can demand payments far beyond the damage done.

So the doc has to have malpractice insurance, because you never know what little error you make could cause a multi-million dollar lawsuit. The more doctors get sued by the "where's my slice" consumer, the more malpractice insurance costs the doctors.

The more malpractice insurance costs the doctors, the more they have to charge for their services to keep up with the insurance payments. Since patients pay for insurance, and the insurance companies pay the doctors, the doctors are effectively charging the insurance companies more.

The insurance companies are in business to make money, not to lose it. So the consumers' premiums go up because "health care keeps getting more and more expensive."

And the spiral continues downward and we all suffer. It's a bit like the lottery. Lots of people buy tickets, only a few get big payouts. Only instead of just the single mechanism which is the lottery, there's this multi-layered thing.

[joe.distort]

having extensive dealings with Malpractice policies, i can tell you that IS partially true. but its not as big of a factor as is often portrayed. docs dont even hit their malpractice 'sweet spot' where they have to pay a lot until they have 4 years of practice behind them. its complex.