Posted on 08/14/2009 8:26:25 AM PDT by St. Louis Conservative
We are now hearing this defense of ObamaCare: "why are you worried about government rationing? The insurance companies ration your care already!"
What is a good, effective rebuttal to that?
The insurance company doesn’t “ration” care — it gives coverage per the terms of the insurance contract. Companies offer a variety of plans - some cover more, some cover less. States mandate what plans will cover and, of course, that varies state to state which is the reason some states have “cheaper” private insurance costs than others.
How so?
Everything is rationed by what’s affordable. We ration our grocery shopping, gasoline and car purchases, entertainment, etc WITHOUT GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE.
You can shop for a different insurance company that may serve your needs better, but once the government is running the show, your consumer choice will be gone.
My response: “I can sue my insurance company for a denied claim or service, or I can change health insurance companies. Will I be able to sue the National Healthcare System?”
I can SUE my insurance company if they get too out of control.
Or I can CHANGE my insurance company.
At least you can sue the insurance company and appeal their decision.
You can’t sue the government.
Under Obamah-Care, you may get to keep what you have, but if you ever lose it or your employer drops it, you no longer have any choice.
Till at some point in the future where their will be only government run health care with no options for private insurance.
Insurance companies don’t ration care. You are still free to pay for something the insurance company won’t; you are still free to switch insurance companies (although difficult with a pre-existing condition); and you are still free to sue for the coverage.
Free market competition. An insurance company may ration care but if they step over the line there will be bad publicity and their customers leave them for a better insurance company. Not so with a government run system...there is no competition and nowhere to go.
Insurance companies DO NOT RATION, they CANNOT ration.
They can refuse to pay for a procedure, but they can’t stop you from getting it if you want it.
Under single payer, universal care, you can’t pay out of your own pocket to get a procedure they won’t pay for. You and the doctor who performed it would wind up in jail.
Insurance companies cannot ration, only government has the rule of force to prevent people from getting care. Insurance companies can refuse to pay for something, but they cannot stop you as a person from getting something.
excellent
I don't know if that is "rationing" or not. The system is called "managed care" and I guess it is that as a nod to trying to contain costs. But the services are still available. In the worst care (and it has happened) I have to pay my way. But I am willing to do that. Unlike liberals, I don't expect something for nothing.
1. The individual that is denied care by an insurance company may be screwed.
2. Market pressure can be brought to bear if the purchasers see one company consistently denying care unreasonably: They can switch to a different carrier - something that would not be possible under HR3200.
3. One can sue ones insurance company for breach of contract, if the denial is unreasonable. HR3200 exempts the govt from regulatory and judicial review, ie you can’t sue them. Period.
I can change insurance companies, I get fined 2.5% of my gross income by the IRS if Obamacare is in place.
Big Government, the masters of bureaucratic inefficiency, will have no competition ... and they will control healthcare by force of law. Big Government is an expensive, unnecessary middleman (like insurance is) but it will never go way, and you will not be able to change plans.
Suggestions:
1) Catastrophic insurance only — hospitalization and doctors services only for all.
2) Stop using Emergency Rooms for anything other than “serious emergencies,” not toothaches or menstrual cramps.
3) We'll decide how many well-patient visits we need a year. We used to do quite nicely on 1 physical a year that we paid for out of pocket.
4) Allow insurance to be sold across state lines to allow for larger pools of consumers.
5) Tort reform. There is no amount of money that can replace a loved one and no amount of money can make you whole. It's time to rein in the litigators fees so that that 1/3 contingency doesn't have to support his staff for the rest of the quarter, and there is a fair settlement to replace loss of income — forget emotional distress — there is not enough money in the world to compensate you for that.
6) Stop eating yourself into oblivion, stop smoking yourself into dehydration; stop drinking yourself into a lab beaker, and take responsibility for your health.
7) Use generic drugs — half the crap on the market today causes more problems than it cures — look at the disclaimers and warnings.
8) Stay clean, wash your hands, carry tissues and cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze.
9) Wash your clothes and clean your homes — no matter how poor you are — you can afford a bar of soap — if not, I think we can cover you.
10) Accept what life gives you, fight whatever you can, however you can and trust in God. Last, but not least, it's over when it's over — not a second before or late.
Rationing by the govt on the other hand- means NO.
No appeal.
No buying the medical care privately either.
Just NO.
In most cases, the causes for and amounts of reimbursement are defined very thoroughly, and very clearly for the most part. There is no 'rationing' in any legitimate sense of that word, except via the normal market function of price. Want a higher level of reimbursement (''coverage'')? Pay more. Completely straightforward and absolutely consonant with market principles.
Contrast this with typical government practices. 'Voluntary'? Not on your life; witness the completely coercive nature of HR 3200. 'Well-defined'? Not a chance, particularly when goobermint can and does change the terms whenever it wishes. 'Clear'? Goobermint? Clear?? You're joking, right?
The short answer is: anyone claiming that insurance companies 'ration' medical care is 1) illiterate, in that they do not understand the definition of or are willfully misapplying the term, 2) most likely simply parroting the most recent set of Marxist talking points they've been given, and 3) almost surely not worth wasting your time and breath on.
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