Clinton unveils mandatory health care insurance plan

[beatupbrown]

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/2005-08-30-health-care-crunch-survey_x.htm
I agree Cherly the cost for health insurance keeps going up and up.
The cost of health care is going up much faster than people's wages," says Drew Altman of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-partisan research group not affiliated with the Kaiser medical group. "Families are paying about (on average) $1,000 more now just for health care premiums than they were five years ago."
Growth in health insurance costs outpaced inflation and wage growth.
Proposed solutions include high-deductible policies, disease-management programs for chronic illnesses and more use of computer technology to streamline medical records. (Special report: Healthcare crunch: How American pay their medical bills)
The average we see is more like $12,000 per family,"
Sixty-two percent of those struggling to pay medical bills have health insurance, underscoring how increasing premiums, deductibles and gaps in coverage are affecting families.

 

[Overpaid Union Thug]

Moreluck is correct, we're in CA and insurance for our 3 person family costs over a thousand a month. Our 20 year old daughter is even on a high deductible policy. It's ridiculous...

Prices for ANYTHING in California are rediculous. One reason for Health Insurance prices, more specificaly that provided by employers, sky rocketing is because there are more claims being paid out by the insurers than are comming in. This is a result of people only having to fork over a $10 or $20 co-pay for each visit. The result is the insurance companies having to fork over thousands of dollars per co-pay when there is semi-major or major medical procedures involved. I actually think that the system would work better if the co-pays were dropped and we were all more responsible for more of the bills. Sure, we'd all be paying more but I bet most people would take better care of themselves and be a little sharper with their finances. Also...in the long run the insurance companies wouldn't be paying out more than what's comming in and rates would go down.

 

[diesel96]

Prices for ANYTHING in California are rediculous. One reason for Health Insurance prices, more specificaly that provided by employers, sky rocketing is because there are more claims being paid out by the insurers than are comming in. This is a result of people only having to fork over a $10 or $20 co-pay for each visit. The result is the insurance companies having to fork over thousands of dollars per co-pay when there is semi-major or major medical procedures involved. I actually think that the system would work better if the co-pays were dropped and we were all more responsible for more of the bills. Sure, we'd all be paying more but I bet most people would take better care of themselves and be a little sharper with their finances. Also...in the long run the insurance companies wouldn't be paying out more than what's comming in and rates would go down.

It's not just Cal., it's everywhere Big.
And stating more claims being paid out than coming in is outrageous.
While insurance companies continue to charge outrageously high premiums for decreased coverage, they are reaping outrageously high profits at the expense of denying claims from American families. The legal rights of people injured through no fault of their own are being trampled…but guess what? The insurance industry is booming. Average recent earnings annually over the last few years:

​

HMO Profits Doubled
The nation's HMOs nearly doubled their net profits last year, earning $10.2 billion , up from $5.5 billion in (an 86 percent increase),
Some examples of those booming companies are:

• • Blue Cross Blue Shield plans—63% increase in profit
  • Kaiser Foundation Health Plan—$995.5 million profit
  • Physicians Service—$314.2 million profit
  • Group Health Cooperative—$187.8 million profit
  • Aetna Health—$129.8 million profit

Best Profits in a Decade for Health & Life Insurers
Health and life insurers this year posted their best profits in a decade…those firms jumped $5.9 billion to $8.7 billion in the first three months of 2004."

Executives getting their share also:
https://web.archive.org/web/20090812052215/http://www.newsobserver.com/104/story/416559.html

Why align yourselves with organized Ins Co's for profit corperations?
Ins co's are mandated to make as much as possible.In some states the law requires that the Ins co's officers or Board of directors maximize their profits. Even if an Ins co got religion and decided to stop or even reduce the number of rejected claims, they would be both civilly and criminally liable for acting against their shareholders interests.

 

[toonertoo]

The number of people leaving the U.S. for medical tourism is growing, Dr. Kevin Schulman, a health economist at Duke University, said. For example, in India, a new heart hospital charges $2,000 for heart bypass surgery, he said.

Now thats funny, (not) That is less than what I will owe for my husbands bypass after all is sorted out. I consider myself very lucky, that I had insurance. But if I hadnt, would they have turned him away and let him die? With a govt run system, would have he had to wait four months...which he wouldnt have survived, or is the waiting a myth? Ive never been refused treatment, even when I was uninsured, but I had to pay for it. At a higher rate than those insured.

 

[moreluck]

I went to get bloodwork done today. A guy came in and showed his insurance card and they told him, "we don't take HMO's."

I thought that was strange and another good reason to get PPO.

 

[wkmac]

As you consider the Hillary Clinton plan you might also listen to this August 2005' NPR interview with Newt Gingrich on Healthcare. Seems that some of Hillary's latest proposals that do differ from her 1993' ideas might have an interesting source especially for you so-called conservative types.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4790698

BTW: To Hillary, Newt or anyone else, under US Constitution, Article 1, Sec 8 granting Congressional powers and Article 2, Sec. 2 granting Presidential powers does it cede authority for a federal level branch of gov't to pass and implemement such healthcare legislation? I know I'm just a stick in the mud but I like playing in the mud!


And something else to consider for the moment. The plans IMO seem to mandate everyone have healthcare insurance and the argument for this is the gov't requires car insurance. True, if you use the public roads, to my knowledge all states require this but if your vehicle never leaves your private property, then no such complusory coverage is required. In other words, stay on private roads and do as you please, come on public roads and then you are compelled. No problem with that drom this poster.

These plans however seem to take a little different course in that they mandate all no matter the condition or situation that all take part. Will the courts uphold all compulsory compliance? They may say no because of the fact that there is still a private medical road so to speak out there so my question now would be, will all doctors and medical healthcare providers be mandated to comply and enter this new healthcare system and then be price regulated? Sounds good but who is providing the coverage and benefiting from our mandated compulsory participation in the healthcare system and controlling the cost of the healthcare itself?

The Claims Windows at the Insurance Companies and the share price to their bottomline. Then how long before we demand the insurance companies be Nationalized like healthcare and our means of getting healthcare? Where does it end folks? How far do we take this? We've already mandated and nationalized old age healthcare with Medicare and......ah-Ha! MEDICARE! Could this all really be about saving medicare? Hint! Hint! because it's just possible I may know something you don't since I do frequent law libaries and do read and research think tank and policy wonk documents. Yeah, that's called a teaser and a big one at that!


And for those of you who thought the democrats were against the big guy and out to protect the little guy?

As Gomer Pyle would say:

SURPRISE! SURPRISE! SURPRISE!



I'm outta here. C Ya around.

 

[av8torntn]

I did not know the federal government required car insurance. I remember in my state until a couple years ago it was not required and now it is only a 50 dollar fine if you get caught without it. Do they only require it on federal highways?

The big questions about health care to me are. Why is health insurance provided by employers and not taxed as taxable income? Why do you go to the doctors office and have no idea how much the charges are? Where else do you go and buy something without knowing the price? I think with health care we need more freedom not less so government run programs will be my last choice.

 

[diesel96]

It's true, we don't not know the charge beforehand the procedure, I guess if we are a real stickler the office mgr might give us the time of day and review the billable items towards our ins carrier and most certainly collect their co-pay from us. The ins carrier (supposedly) acts as an watchdog from the medical field overcharging to protect themselves and to keep the shareholders happy. Hence HMO's and PPO's. If the medical provider refuses to adjust their charges guess who gets billed..the patient. Eventually, the ins carrier (Central States) sends us an "Explanation of Benefits" which summerizes total charges....allowed charges....total benefit..etc.
By law, to resolve discrepancies, we have an appeal procedure. If by the 2nd appeal attempt you are still denied then you have the right to bring suit in an attempt to recover benefits, enforce rights or to clarify rights to future benefits.
IMO the medical field and the profit driven Ins Carriers fear if the Gov't flexes it's muscles and provides an (optional) Medicare-like public plan and sets standards as far as billing allowed, charges allowed, deductibiles,benefits..etc...Unless the private industry complys and regulates it's self, you might see the masses willingly jump ship from private care plan to public care plan. Undoubtedly this proposed Healthcare Plan will drive costs down for all and those of us who prefer to remain with our present Doctors and Carriers.

 

[av8torntn]

The real question is why can we not price shop? Why is the price the maximum that your insurance company will pay? What other industry will perform their service and then bam two weeks later you get a bill. Just try to offer them more than they normally charge to let you to the from of the line. They will look at you like you are crazy. The market will keep prices down if allowed. We do not need more government regulation but less. Just look at how expensive government health care is at the VA. The lines are horrible. It is so bad I choose to use central states insurance instead of my "free" government health care. I just think in this country the answer to any question is almost never the government most importantly when it comes to my health.

 

[beatupbrown]

The cost of health care is going up much faster than people's wages," says Drew Altman of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-partisan research group not affiliated with the Kaiser medical group. "Families are paying about (on average) $1,000 more now just for health care premiums than they were five years ago."
This is what the free market is doing and has done!!!!!

 

[av8torntn]

So what you are saying is since no one can afford health care all doctors except the ones working for the government will find other work or be unemployed? I do not think that you have even seen health care brought to the free market. If a family of four is only paying 1000 more for health insurance now than five years ago that seems pretty good to me. How much has the cost of medical school gone up in the last five years? How much has the price of real estate gone up for their offices in the last five years? How much has the price of gas gone up in the last five years for them to get to work? How much have the wages for their employees gone up in the last five years? Anyway you can keep your Karl Marx handbook. I do not need it nor do I want it. I am an adult. I would like to make decisions for myself not have you or the the government do it for me.

 

[av8torntn]

It seems no one wants to take responsibility for anything. Imagine what it would be like if we could all be adults and take care of ourselves instead of asking the government to do it for us.


http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=273790988274527

 

[diesel96]

The market will keep prices down if allowed. We do not need more government regulation but less. Just look at how expensive government health care is at the VA. The lines are horrible. It is so bad I choose to use central states insurance instead of my "free" government health care. I just think in this country the answer to any question is almost never the government most importantly when it comes to my health.

Those who say the market is "fair" or "affordable" concerning healthcare obviously need to take their blindfolds off and unplug their eardrums because their so out of touch with reality. AGAIN nobody is mandating YOU to use a public plan. With the National Healthcare plan we have a CHOICE to use your private insurance (which BTW is also free to you except the co-pay thru UPS). The plan benefits millions of others not as fortunate as you who don't have their employers offering you a free ticket. So to wait in long lines (as you claim) for affordable Healthcare might be a trade off to the millions of people who are getting railroaded by the unregulated profit driven private healthcare market.
And yes, once implemented the private Healthcare Ind. will have to regulate themselves to be more competative otherwise the players will have to trade in their Porsches for Caddilacs.

 

[Overpaid Union Thug]

Is everyone in the country just expecting handouts these days or what?

 

[Overpaid Union Thug]

It seems no one wants to take responsibility for anything. Imagine what it would be like if we could all be adults and take care of ourselves instead of asking the government to do it for us.


http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=273790988274527

...and that my friend is the $$MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION$$! Remember in the 80's when there was "Hands Across America" ?? Well now it would be "Hand Out Across America." Everyone wants something for nothing.

 

[av8torntn]

More like the billion or trillion dollar question. What a really poor idea.

 

[brazenbrown]

Oh boy...look, more government giveaways!!

Hillary says every baby born in the United States (I guess that includes anchor babies) should get $5000.00.


WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday that every child born in the United States should get a $5,000 "baby bond" from the government to help pay for future costs of college or buying a home.

I hope this is retroactive!!!

Clinton, her party's front-runner in the 2008 race, made the suggestion during a forum hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus.
"I like the idea of giving every baby born in America a $5,000 account that will grow over time, so that when that young person turns 18 if they have finished high school they will be able to access it to go to college or maybe they will be able to make that downpayment on their first home," she said.
The New York senator did not offer any estimate of the total cost of such a program or how she would pay for it. Approximately 4 million babies are born each year in the United States.


A... That would be 20 billion a year..I know we can just raise taxes for the middle class and make sure all the poor, illegal and lazy parents of babies get their fair share!!

Clinton said such an account program would help people get back to the tradition of savings that she remembers as a child, and has become harder to accomplish in the face of rising college and housing costs.


Gee..I thought it was harder back in the old days when our parents and grandparents had to walk 20 miles in the snow in bare feet just to get to school...


One way of building a stronger economy, she said, is "more savings, starting with the so-called baby bonds idea where every person born in this country would be given that kind of account because we want to make an investment in America's young people."


She argued that wealthy people "get to have all kinds of tax incentives to save, but most people can't afford to do that."



The proposal was met with enthusiastic applause at an event aimed to encourage young people to excel and engage in politics.
"I think it's a wonderful idea," said Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, an Ohio Democrat who attended the event and has already endorsed Clinton. "Every child born in the United States today owes $27,000 on the national debt, why not let them come get $5,000 to grow until their 18?"
Blake Zeff, a spokesman for the senator's campaign, said a baby bonds program "is not a firm policy proposal but an idea under consideration."
Britain launched a similar program in January 2005, handing out vouchers worth hundreds of dollars each to parents with children born after Sept. 1, 2002.

After hearing about this I ran out to the store and got some fertiltiy drugs...I'm hoping for sextuplets...A cool $30k...Yeah babies!!

My God and this woman is running for president, What's next..free cars??

 

[moreluck]

Hillary's an idiot with this plan

[EVIL]Plus she has fat calves[/EVIL]

 

[brazenbrown]

A picture worth a 1000 words!!

Sorry More no calves in this pic!


How Hillary looks upon a crook vs. how Hillary looks upon an American hero:

 

[toonertoo]

Originally I heard it would not be mandatory to wait til 18 to cash it in, then I heard it would be. Either way is a bad Idea. I cant see the upside, sorry. If everyone gets it
1> The rich do not need it
2. the poor wouldnt manage it
3. The middle class, well by 18 yrs from now at 3% growth wouldnt cover books or tuition for a year.
4. And the welfare class, I wont even go there. ALTHOUGH I SEE IT AS AN INCENTIVE to have even more children they cannot afford, even though they get their birth control for free, why on Gods green earth would they now!
I will prepare myself for the beatings