Posted on 01/01/2008 10:25:16 AM PST by goldstategop
The core of the governor’s socialized medicine proposal is a mandate that every Californian MUST carry health insurance and that every insurance company MUST cover anyone who applies, regardless of pre-existing medical conditions. It’s called “guaranteed issue,” and it sounds too good to be true. That’s because it is.
But if you are guaranteed health insurance AFTER you get sick, why would you pay for it when you are healthy? The governor’s advocates say that’s not a problem, since everybody will be required to carry health insurance, thus spreading the risk.
Wait a minute. We already have a law that requires every motorist to carry auto insurance – and yet despite severe legal penalties, this law is ignored by one driver in five.
Now just a few quick questions. Suppose we required every auto insurance company to provide accident coverage AFTER you’ve had your accident, just as the governor proposes to do with health insurance. Is it conceivable that a lot more than one person in five would ignore the mandate, save their money, and wait until they’ve actually had their accident to get their guaranteed coverage? And if they did, would insurance rates for the rest of us go up or go down? And as insurance rates increased, wouldn’t more and more of the remaining insured people decide to ignore the law. That’s precisely the spiral that Massachusetts has already encountered after just a little over a year, and that’s why Mitt Romney no longer talks much about it.
That’s the Catch-22 to guaranteed issue insurance, and there’s no way around it. If insurance is guaranteed AFTER an illness begins, then it’s not insurance. It’s a direct grant because the risk has now gone to 100 percent. And if you exempt from coverage an illness that develops BEFORE you take out insurance – then it’s not guaranteed issue.
Here’s the real problem with pre-existing medical conditions. I spoke to a fellow recently who had bursitis. He tried to get health insurance and was turned down because this constituted a pre-existing medical condition. He told the insurance company, “I don’t care about the bursitis – I can live with that. I’m worried about a heart attack or a stroke or a devastating accident or a brain tumor. Can’t you insure me for everything EXCEPT the bursitis?” The answer was, “We’d love to, but we can’t.”
Why not?
It’s against the law.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
We are so screwed
Wait until prop 13 is repealed!
Hey now, I like this ‘guaranteed coverage’!! That means I can drop my $763 (it just went up) a mnth insurance for JUST ME and wait until I get sick to buy insurance. I could sure use an extra $760 a mnth to sock away.
This is intended sarcasm but hey if they are stupid enough to pass this crap I darn sure will take advantage of it......and so will millions of others.
Anytype of Nationalize Health care is a horrible idea. It is unnecessary and will not address cost and most probably make things worse which will then of course require even more government meddling in a system that is burdened throughout with it. I’d rather he banned all insurance companies and require that Doctors offer payment plans and credit options.
This would at least introduce competition into the mix. We need to reject the hybrid conservative liberal monster legislation ideas popularized by those that run on the Compassionate conservative mantra. The solutions they offer are not compassionate and just inch us more and more towards fully socialized healthcare.
Mitt Romney wants the same kind of plan which interestingly enough is the same program that Hillary wants. Since when do real conservatives take up the programs of the left or vice versa? I think it says something about him as a candidate.
Hold onto your wallets folks and get ready to get even worse medical care for more money than you are already spending on it. The government is on the job and we know how it helps lower costs and improve efficiencies.
The Keith Richman/Joe Nation health care bill would of probally been better than this.
Geez Louise, $763.00 per month for just you? What insurance plan do you have?? Mine just went up to $168.00 with a $5,000 deductible.
My husband is retired and we have my insurance through his old employer. I have a pre-existing condition and other insurance companies turn me down regularly. Believe me I have tried, so I am stuck with this abomination for now. I have just begun investigating getting an HSA. The problem there again is even for catastrophic they may turn me down. I have a friend who is in insurance checking on it for me now.
As noted in my tagline, “Guaranteed Coverage” is the lie that DENIES ACTUAL MEDICAL TREATMENT!
Wait till some employers discover that they can save money by dropping their health plans and just paying the sum the state assesses for its default plan.
Good luck on that. My sister had breast cancer and Blue Cross accepted her, though, I’m going to check on that for confirmation.
Oh you darned youngsters, you just have to keep rubbing it in, don't you? :-)
In California, many of us who are of near-Medicare age but have any pre-existing condition (mine was that I take two kinds of blood pressure medication) and who also lose our employer-proved coverage are unable to obtain underwritten individual coverage and are therefore forced to use the mandatory issue insurance provided under the federal HIPAA act. The price of that insurance escalates quickly with age, and 700 for a high-deductable policy covering someone in their late fifties isn't unusual.
I would like to see this work somehow but they have to work out the kinks. I know of people that come here from other states to take advantage of our free health care, people that work under the table and don’t pay taxes. I don’t know how it works but I know it is being done. If healthcare was mandatory, it would make out-of-state people suspect, and hopefully action would be taken.
Our Emergency rooms are being closed down because of the illegals taking advantage of them. It has killed Americans that were too far from an Emergency room.
I’ve read about healthcare companies paying bonuses to employees that figure out ways to drop people that have paid for insurance for many years and then become too expensive to treat. Doctors push anti-depressants onto people then the Healthcare insurers have an excuse not to take them as patients.
Whenever people can’t get healthcare coverage, everybody is stuck paying for them, even us that already have it.
Blue Cross turned me down flat.
Just who is this suppose to help.
Oh, I forgot the same people that it always has. The government and big business. Gee, so what’s new.
Oh, I forgot; they can steal more.
I see a big difference in mandatory healthcare and socialized healthcare. I believe that competition is key to our health system.
Blue Cross has never been in all it’s year’s history a up and up insurance company. They are the biggest crooks around.
I’m not a youngster. I’m a boomer, an old broad, over the hill, spinster, old maid.....
I would like to see all insurance except for Catastrophic go away. Let people pay for their own regular check ups, colds, small stitches, etc. You would darn sure see competition between doctors and I would bet that prescriptions would plummet also.
Okay, you healthy boomers have to keep rubbing it in....
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