Star, you've come to a conclusion and decided what you're going to believe regardless of how accurate your conclusion is. Somebody convinced you there's, "a huge influx of patients," when you've not brought any evidence of your claim to the forum. Was it Rush or Sean or Ann who made this spurious statement?
Remember that the sole point of commercial mass media is to get you to buy products or support particular for-profit entities, like insurance companies. They're really the leeches in the entire system because they provide no added benefit to the system. Insurance companies these days do nothing but try to minimize health care costs. That's all they do and they do a very poor job of that. Policyholders, usually an employer, pays to the insurance company what the insurance company estimates it will pay out in claims. That means policyholders are self-insured. Insurance companies make their money by investing the money they receive from policy holders, just like a bank does. That's why if you're an employer shopping for health insurance, all the policies you compare cost about the same. Because there is no profit in premiums any longer, companies like AIG get into trouble when the market dives despite the fact they're charging their customers premiums.
I really, really, urge you to investigate this entire situation because you are woefully uninformed on this issue. Sometimes you're right, sometimes you argue your points well, sometimes you're on-target even if I disagree with you. Not this time. My entire family works or has worked in insurance and so have I. My step-father worked for Marsh & McLennan, the world's largest insurance broker, as a senior VP. He sold giant health insurance policies to Fortune 500 companies for over 50 years. My uncle has a small town independent insurance agency. I worked for CIGNA in the health insurance division. My father worked in IT solution engineering for insurance companies and worked prior to that as a public entity health insurance broker for Travelers. My mom worked as Director of Development for two hospital systems. On top of that I have oodles of relatives and friends who are doctors of all kinds.
I know more about health insurance and our health care system than the a whole hell of a lot of other people. When all these people tell you the system doesn't work, from insurance brokers to doctors and hospital administrators, then guess what? The system likely does not work. This is backed by policy statements from the AMA, JCHA, and even health insurers themselves not to mention the non-lobbyist not-for-profit advocacy groups.
It's no secret I'm a poster boy for the failure of the American health care system so not only am I aware of the issues, I'm living them. Had I lived in any other western industrialized nation, I'd likely not have cancer and not cost you, a taxpayer, (at last check) close to $250,000 in care. I will definitely end-up costing you well over a million. I'd also be able to work in some capacity and not be stuck on the public dole for what may well be the rest of my life because my condition precludes me from getting private insurance (even state-sponsored low cost plans) due to pre-existing condition limitations.
Employers want out of providing health insurance. So do employees. So do doctors. So do the uninsured. The only people who want to keep the current system are the health insurance companies because they make a profit by denying you care while you pay them for the privilege. This despite the fact the very same insurance companies provide low-cost, high-value policies to people in countries which have nationalized health care. Yes! You can buy, in fact most employers provide, private health insurance policies in countries which have nationalized health care. These policies provide coverage for non-essential care, including some cosmetic procedures, private hospitals, dental, and vision. These policies are ridiculously affordable because they don't have to provide catastrophic care coverage. They don't "manage costs" don't require pre-authorizations, don't require high deductibles or only pay, "reasonable and customary," amounts because insurance companies make money on these policies the way they used to make money on them here.
Investigate and learn how the entire system works because, frankly, defending ours is impossible.
Remember that the sole point of commercial mass media is to get you to buy products or support particular for-profit entities, like insurance companies. They're really the leeches in the entire system because they provide no added benefit to the system. Insurance companies these days do nothing but try to minimize health care costs. That's all they do and they do a very poor job of that. Policyholders, usually an employer, pays to the insurance company what the insurance company estimates it will pay out in claims. That means policyholders are self-insured. Insurance companies make their money by investing the money they receive from policy holders, just like a bank does. That's why if you're an employer shopping for health insurance, all the policies you compare cost about the same. Because there is no profit in premiums any longer, companies like AIG get into trouble when the market dives despite the fact they're charging their customers premiums.
I really, really, urge you to investigate this entire situation because you are woefully uninformed on this issue. Sometimes you're right, sometimes you argue your points well, sometimes you're on-target even if I disagree with you. Not this time. My entire family works or has worked in insurance and so have I. My step-father worked for Marsh & McLennan, the world's largest insurance broker, as a senior VP. He sold giant health insurance policies to Fortune 500 companies for over 50 years. My uncle has a small town independent insurance agency. I worked for CIGNA in the health insurance division. My father worked in IT solution engineering for insurance companies and worked prior to that as a public entity health insurance broker for Travelers. My mom worked as Director of Development for two hospital systems. On top of that I have oodles of relatives and friends who are doctors of all kinds.
I know more about health insurance and our health care system than the a whole hell of a lot of other people. When all these people tell you the system doesn't work, from insurance brokers to doctors and hospital administrators, then guess what? The system likely does not work. This is backed by policy statements from the AMA, JCHA, and even health insurers themselves not to mention the non-lobbyist not-for-profit advocacy groups.
It's no secret I'm a poster boy for the failure of the American health care system so not only am I aware of the issues, I'm living them. Had I lived in any other western industrialized nation, I'd likely not have cancer and not cost you, a taxpayer, (at last check) close to $250,000 in care. I will definitely end-up costing you well over a million. I'd also be able to work in some capacity and not be stuck on the public dole for what may well be the rest of my life because my condition precludes me from getting private insurance (even state-sponsored low cost plans) due to pre-existing condition limitations.
Employers want out of providing health insurance. So do employees. So do doctors. So do the uninsured. The only people who want to keep the current system are the health insurance companies because they make a profit by denying you care while you pay them for the privilege. This despite the fact the very same insurance companies provide low-cost, high-value policies to people in countries which have nationalized health care. Yes! You can buy, in fact most employers provide, private health insurance policies in countries which have nationalized health care. These policies provide coverage for non-essential care, including some cosmetic procedures, private hospitals, dental, and vision. These policies are ridiculously affordable because they don't have to provide catastrophic care coverage. They don't "manage costs" don't require pre-authorizations, don't require high deductibles or only pay, "reasonable and customary," amounts because insurance companies make money on these policies the way they used to make money on them here.
Investigate and learn how the entire system works because, frankly, defending ours is impossible.
