Posted on 12/24/2010 9:55:11 AM PST by Libloather
Some “renew,” but none “extend!”
“If the federal government can get away with ordering individuals to buy health insurance based on interstate commerce laws, it could order us to submit to any other practice it deems for our good based on similar misinterpretations of the Constitution.”
If I chose not to spend my money and leave it in the bank, does that mean the gov’t can determine that my not spending money is causing a detrimental effect on the economy therefore giving them the power to seize it. All I want for Xmas is 2012!
THIS is shouting! This is not!!! This is being emphatic with certitude!!!
You're never gonna have a Merry Christmas if you continue to buck all the traditional/conventional wisdom of thousands of years of actuarial trial and error effort on behalf of mankind. When you come to St. Peters gate, you're gonna have another tantrum because stubborn lack of logic is your other pre-existing condition, right???
Have a pleasant, cheerful and especially healthy Christmas and try to stay a little closer to consistent conservatism in your new year, Ok???
“So stop with this nonsense of “weeding out” the sick so your premiums can be lower. “
Sorry about your recent health issues. Your issue, and the plight of insurance in small businesses is the biggest problem this country has, in my opinion.
Unfortunately, the whole industry has gotten to the point where I feel that we’d be better off if insurance was completely outlawed, and we reverted to a fee-for-service model for everyone - with NHS-style public hospitals for everyone who won’t or can’t pay.
That is the only way that politicians can pretend to take care of those who can’t pay for themselves without destroying the folks who can pay for themselves, if they didn’t have to pay for everyone else, too.
If the GOP is serious about reform they can start by repealing those clauses in ERISA legislation that keep you from taking your insurance company to court if they unfairly deny your claim, or their denial of treatment causes you harm.
I do not get a "renewal" notice every year for my term life contract, if you were correct (and you're not..) I'd get a yearly renewal notice. Just admit you were wrong on this point and let's move on ...
The fact that you don't see the absolute absurdity in your posts has me thinking it's time to stop responding to you. But rather than that, allow me to demonstrate your absurdity by using absurdity:
So what you're trying to convince FReepers of is that we should kick out anyone who's paid their health insurance premiums regularly from all health insurance risk pools and force them into government sponsored health insurance simply because they got sick and expected to be covered by the policy, so you can keep your own cost down.
If you don't see the absolute absurdity in both statements then you're lost. Forcing anyone into a Government sponsored or run health insurance pool is ultimately going to cost YOU more money via your tax dollars. How do you not see this? The same government that has bankrupted Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and has run up nearly 14 Trillion dollars in debt you want to take care of the "sick" thinking you'll lower your own personal costs? It's positively absurd to think that'll save you money.
My argument is not, and never has been that we should cover those who do not act responsibly and wait until they get sick to try and get insurance, thereby driving up everyone elses costs. That is the net effect of paying for fire insurance on one's home only after the fire has started. I'll not buy into that argument.
For those of us who've played by the rules and done the right thing in no way shape or form should an insurance company or you ever be able to deny us insurance simply because we were unfortunate enough to get sick while we had insurance to cover it.
Again, the world you want to live in would allow you to simply 'kick out' anyone from your health insurance pool who gets sick, in order to keep your own personal cost down. Gee, who's trying to change the system to live in their own idyllic world here, you or I?
Wishing you also a very healthy and prosperous New Year, and please do try to get back to Conservative principles which you've certainly strayed from in this discourse.
Which is why I personally would trust the Insurance Companies to do the right thing - driven by a profit motive to provide the most efficient and cost effective care possible - once they are unshackled from an overly-restrictive oversight system implemented by the Federal Government.
If we truly want to see costs drop, here's what needs to happen:
1. Medical Malpractice Reform.
2. Medical Lawsuit Reform, limit damages collected and stop this nonsense of multi-million dollar lawsuits for trivial injuries and issues.
3. Implement LOSER PAYS as part of Tort Reform across the board.
4. Allow INTERSTATE COMPETITION by leveling the playing field for all Health Insurance Companies to compete across state borders.
Increased competition always lowers costs - it's worked every time it's been tried. Here I trust our Capitalist economy to do the right thing, if only the Health Insurance Industry and Doctors were unshackled by the Federal Government. Then we'd have the #1 medical system in the world again.
Our state legislators forbid the insurance companies from offering policies that would allow for a $20,000 or $30,000 ( or more) deductible.
For instance, my husband and I are now financially at the point where we could personally pay for most of our health care directly..But...A long stay in an ICU would either bankrupt us or wipe us out.
Essentially, we are being forced, by our state legislature, to buy more insurance than we need just so we can insure against an ICU catastrophe!
Also...As employers ( we are retired now) we could have afforded to offer a high deductible insurance plan to our employees but this type of plan is outlawed in our state. Therefore...most of our employees were completely uninsured.
As, for example, the welfare system.
To explain, Ispotted a notice posted in a welfare office. It bragged about, due to an X% cut in "administrative expenses" for a particular program, they were able to increase the payout to the beneficiary by Y%.
Applying a little Algebra, I discovered that "administrative expenses" were 85% of the program's cost. The beneficiaries were receiving only 15% of the deal.
I've no doubt that a mature Obamacare would also see 85% of all healthcare costs sunk in "administrative expenses".
Government is the most expensive middleman imaginable...
Yes, I not only realize it, I insist on it. People in the same risk category should be paying the same actuarily correct premium. People in a high-risk category shouldn't be paying the same premium as people in a low-risk category. Low-risk people shouldn't be subsidizing high-risk people. That's not insurance, that's income transfer.
This is the way fire insurance and auto insurance are run. Term life insurance is a good example of how it works in the life insurance industry. You get a flat premium for a fixed number of years, based on your age and health at the time you take out the policy. If after the term is up, you want to insure for another term, the new premium is based on your age and health at the time you take out the policy. As you get older, term insurance premiums become prohibitive. That's why most people buy policies that eventually get paid up. But in the early years, 20-pay life premiums are higher than term insurance at the same age. With the 20-pay life, you're buying protection against having to pay higher premiums later, especially if you become ill or have a disabling accident.
No reason health insurance can't work the same way, if we weren't constrained to get it through our employers.
Your continued insistence on re-writing the fundamental basis on which health care is priced via risk pooling and the leveling of all risk throughout the pool in favor of your own idealistic "kick all the sick people out so I can save money" b.s. has come to an end. You cannot re-write the rules in your favor alone and since you refuse to accept reality there's just no point in engaging you further.
For your own sake, never get sick. Don't get a cold, don't get arthritis or cancer and by all means - never get old lest what you seek to impose on others is imposed on you.
Have a nice life.
I don’t think usconservative is a conservative at all.
And I don’t think he means what he says...he certainly isn’t saying what he means.
Cutting off or denying coverage to a current, paid-up policy holder is one thing, and can and should be dealt with even by a tight-fisted Republican Congress, should we ever be lucky enough to get one.
But expecting to purchase a new policy, or have a new policy provided by public largesse, AFTER you have incurred some injury or illness is not insurance at all. It is welfare, and we all know it.
If you have coverage, and your family has coverage, and you or a family member gets sick, you should (within the limits of the damn policy you agreed to) be covered.
If you have no coverage and you get sick or hurt-—don’t look to me to cover your sorry @ss.
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