Rising Health Premiums
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-09-29/rising-health-premiums
What's behind the jump in health insurance premiums and how it's affecting employers and workers.
Guests
Ron Pollack
executive director of Families USA, a national non-profit organization for health care consumers.
Julie Rovner
health policy correspondent for NPR, author of "Health Care Policy and Politics A-Z," and contributing editor for National Journal Daily.
Joseph Antos
Wilson H. Taylor Scholar in Health Care and Retirement Policy at the American Enterprise Institute.
Larry Leavitt
senior vice president, Kaiser Family Foundation.
Comments
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Because of Obamacare my doctor said that she is being instructed to no longer speak of prostrate tests for patients over 45 or 50. Is this true?
Where do the double digit price increases come from? Is it just monopolistic prices by hospitals, who are making a bundle? Also, as rule patients don't choose hospitals, doctors do? Why is there all this talk about choosing hospitals?
odd how the cost of society is bourn by society
whether US approve or NOT stuff happens
and the splatter does NOT care where or when IT lands
deal with IT now, as surely IT will deal US later
boils down to God
if of many faiths or one, few would approve of current approach, BUT another few thousand years, maybe our suvivors get IT right
or simply a test, for all to try, to see if US better, and to keep trying and dying
your plan chooses doctor/ hospital/ pharmacy
via cost driven options(coverable, noncoverable, out of region, out of pocket, out of mind MUST now go wash hands THANKS
The gateway to health care in this country has in recent history been guarded by insurance companies. The goal of insurance companies is to maximize profits for shareholders. There are many tools they use to accomplish this including; legal monopolies (exclusive territories, limits to competition), confusion (not being able to shop apples to apples) hard to understand for layman, dumping people with severe conditions, the list goes on... .
One of the largest money flows in the near future in this country will be in providing healthcare to our increasing number of elderly. Private insurance companies operate at 20-25% add to the cost of healthcare while medicare operates at about 4%. Is it any wonder that the private investment in insurance is fighting tooth and nail to keep their extremely profitable position?
For those of us in the general public, and especially the taxpayers, a 4% add to the cost of healthcare is much preferred over 20-25%. let us not allow the investors in insurance to continue to extort the general public as we strive to obtain affordable health care for ourselves and ourl loved ones
The United States spends more money per person on health care than any other country in the world, about $5,300 annually. In comparison, Switzerland spends about $3,500 per person per year, Japan about $2,000 and Turkey as little as $446 per person each year. Healthcare accounted for 16 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product in 2004.
The reason why healthcare costs more in America is because medical services, materials, technologies and drugs are more expensive than in any other industrialized country. Three times higher than Canada! But mostly the reason for rising healthcare costs lay within the false notion of "healthcare for profit".
The national wisdom up to this point has been that privatizing insurance would spur market competition and decrease the price….but like so many false promises in the capitalist system “the exact opposite has happened”.
Proponents of private healthcare maintain that Americans may be paying more, but have access to the best and fastest healthcare in the world. This is a myth. Data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development shows that the U. S. has fewer hospital beds and physicians per person than France, Australia, Italy and Austria. Many countries also outrank the U.S. in access to advanced medical technology. Americans are not getting the best value for the money. And government isn't the problem, the "abscence of government so far" and the insane drive of greed has been.
If premiums have only risen 9% then I see nothing out of the ordinary. In the past 15 years, I've heard stories from small business owners in Michigan that health insurance premiums normally increase a rate of 15-21% annually. The panelists claim of 1% increase for Blue Cross is dubious at best. A nine percent increase has nothing to do with the recently passed health care reforms.
Increases can, in part, be attributed to alarming costs of pharmaceuticals and insufficient preventive care coverage.
It's fair to say that ObamaCare cannot be held responsible for past or even current soaring health insurance premiums. However, neither does it do a thing to reduce health care spending and inflation. These are THE problem.
Ron Pollack would have us believe the uninsured are the cause health care premium inflation. However, under RomneyCare, law since 2006 and the model for ObamaCare, premiums have continued to soar despite 97% insured rate in MA. Guess what folks? Most E.R. visits are by people WITH insurance. MA is the most expensive health care state in the nation.
The simple fact is insurers are simply parasitic bill paying services which pay your bills with other peoples' money. And, the medical industrial complex is very good at getting its clients to spend as much of other peoples money as possible. The assertion you won't have to pay for preventive care under ObamaCare is a myth. Of course you will. It's included in your premiums. You pay whether you use those services or not.
The failure of RomneyCare and ObamaCare is both kick cost containment down the road and over the cliff never to be visited again.
One major reason is the doctors {and hospitals} have to have the latest expensive equipment. And if they are going justify the expense of buying it and of hiring the technician to run it; they have to use it as often as possible.
Here's an example>>>
Two months ago I had never heard of a Nuclear Stress Test. This month I had one at my cardiologist, my ex-wife had on at the hospital, and my next door neighbor had one at his cardiologist. This test takes four hours, one nuclear technician, one nurse, and a cardiologist to tell you the results; it lasts four hours {often done over two days} and you are injected with an assortment of chemicals including a radioactive isotope and an adrenaline like compound that mimics running on a treadmill intravenously.
"MHBoone wrote:
When are all the numpties in this country going to realize that we will have better outcomes and less expense if we have universal health care?
Mary Helen Boone
Oriental, North Carolina"
Yea Mary, Universal Care would be run like Medicare and Medicaid and in some states, 45% of health providers refuse to treat patients under these Government plans.
"saha wrote:
The gateway to health care in this country has in recent history been guarded by insurance companies. The goal of insurance companies is to maximize profits for shareholders. There are many tools they use to accomplish this including; legal monopolies (exclusive territories, limits to competition), confusion (not being able to shop apples to apples) hard to understand for layman, dumping people with severe conditions, the list goes on... "
Saha:
US New and World Report August 2010 stated that profits for Health Insurance are around 6%. But if you are including in your statement that they make obsene profit, perhaps you are taking into account Life Insurance which is all together a different animal.
Thank you for bringing this issue to the show; unfortunately you missed the point of one of your last caller - the Massage Theropist. I have heard his point from our local chiropracter. Our health care system was built for "sick-care" NOT "preventative care". We are experts at Emergency Room health care and I want to be able to use if I have an emergency. What we lack is a system to keep us OUT of the Emergency Room. If we all lost 30 lbs (in healthy way) and were treated for wellness - our health care cost would lesson dramatically. Why can't we have an insurance policy that pays only for Emergency Room care and generous benefits for Wellness Care (Nutritionalist, Massage Therapist, Chiropracters etc.)
Best regards;
Dale - Orlando