UnitedHealth warns it may exit Obamacare plans

[smitbret]

And children would prefer to eat ice cream for dinner and stay awake until midnight.

So the government is the parent and we are the children?

I am pretty sure that is a good analogy of what the Founding Fathers were most afraid of.

 

[K1052]

Please define "Political Reality".

From where I sit, that's on oxymoron. There are only political ideals.

If it were reality there would be no politics to make.

You really have no idea what you're talking about, do you?

 

[smitbret]

You really have no idea what you're talking about, do you?

Seriously? Explain "Political Reality". Unless you are talking about what buys the most votes there is no such thing as political reality. It's a bullshit phrase and it's unmeasureable except for specific referendums.

 

[theeedude]

I won't put them up as a model but they are certainly more reliable than almost any government entity. The difference is that there is a certain accountability for profitability in private industry. The government, on the other hand, seems to think they have a bottomless pit full of $100 bills and will throw endless amounts of cash at any perceived problem and then try to tell the tax payer it was for the greater good.

Are you kidding me? Medicare knows exactly how much it will pay for a service. Private health care, they won't even tell you how much something costs until it goes through the usual attempted rape of the consumer. How many people on Medicare declare medical bankruptcy?

 

[waggy]

I am on the fence on whether it will be a successful policy. It is early to determine success or failure imo.

My post was in response to senseamp and his ilk. They are already out setting the groundwork for if this fails it wont be the fault of their party that passed it.

agreed. I think it's to early to call it a success or failure.

I despise this crap. A democrat planned passed by democrats is really a republican plan. And when it fails will be republicans fault. This is the problem I have with the useful idiots of these parties. They will never ever take responsibility for their party pushing and passing a failed policy.

LOL exactly.

Someone still has to pay the bill. My premium responsibility increased 300% and that was to go to an HSA plan that pays NO benefit until I meet the annual $2000 deductible. Last year my co-pays for office visits were $25 and I didn't have to cough up $70 out of pocket for a simple antibiotic. I could get back on a plan that was similar with a $2500 deductible but that would have increased my premium 500%.

S

Mine shot up too. I was paying $500 for a family of 4. $20 copay per visit. cheap ass prescriptions. with my medical issues it was great. had it for years.

after HCA that plan was cancelled. i was offered a replacement at $1200 with a $3000 copay that needs to be paid before they would do shit. even then i had a $30 payment per visit. prescriptions damn near tripled.
Also the amount of things they would cover dropped a ton. but it was the cheapest by far i could get.

My wife changed jobs and had open enrollment. We jumped on that fast. still worse them my orginal plan but still darn good.

 

[theeedude]

It doesn't matter who passed it. If exchanges fail, there won't be any more attempts to expand care through private insurers. It will be politically impossible. Individual mandate with private exchanges will be dead. Future reforms will be single payer, most likely through creeping expansion of Medicare and Medicaid. Private insurers will be slowly squeezed out of existence. Again, they are free to gamble their whole industry for short term profit, but realistically this is their last chance.

 

[Svnla]

All I know is we as a nation can not continue to go down the same path regarding the health care system. Each year, the insurance premiums and cost of providing care go up, benefits go down. Don't have to be a genius to figure out it can not go on forever with this rate.

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

All I know is we as a nation can not continue to go down the same path regarding the health care system. Each year, the insurance premiums and cost of providing care go up, benefits go down. Don't have to be a genius to figure out it can not go on forever with this rate.

ACA is the awesome solution we were promised...just give it a few more years.

 

[theeedude]

Other countries have this figured out, no need to reinvent the bicycle, especially if it ends up twice as expensive and worse.

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

Other countries have this figured out, no need to reinvent the bicycle, especially if it ends up twice as expensive and worse.

We need to let Obama's signature legislation play out. Don't despair, just wait 2-3 more years, and you'll see just how awesome it is.

 

[JSt0rm]

We need to let Obama's signature legislation play out. Don't despair, just wait 2-3 more years, and you'll see just how awesome it is.

So what do you want to happen?

 

[Phynaz]

This whole thing is a complete disaster. We keep trying to shift who pays for medical care, but we're not working on lowering the cost of that care.

1,000% this.

We aren't lowering costs, all the regulation increases cost.

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

So what do you want to happen?

I want single payer with rational implementation.

 

[dainthomas]

ACA is the awesome solution we were promised...just give it a few more years.

If it didn't work out would republicans finally be willing to entertain the idea of single payer?

If the choice is ACA or the old system, I'll take ACA every day of the week.

 

[nakedfrog]

So the government is the parent and we are the children?

I am pretty sure that is a good analogy of what the Founding Fathers were most afraid of.

Is this intended to be a joke, or are you actually deficient enough to not understand what I was saying?

 

[nakedfrog]

I want single payer with rational implementation.

That's a pretty reasonable thing to want, IMO.

 

[waggy]

I want single payer with rational implementation.

eventually.

I can see single payer soon. but not the rational implementation part.

 

[theeedude]

The problem is in American politics you can't get to the rational solution until you try every other way first.

 

[Zorba]

We keep trying to shift who pays for medical care, but we're not working on lowering the cost of that care.

This x100. The cost of care is going through the roof, and nothing has changed. A standard office visit has doubled for me in maybe a decade. Cost is still completely hidden. Doctors offices will go out of their way to not tell you the cost of a procedure. And doctors are still allowed to do BS to drive up costs.

For example, my mother has getting steroids injected into her back a few times a year for several years. She used to drive herself to the office, get the shot and be done within 45 minutes. Well she just moved and the new office treats it like surgery, has to have an anesthesiologist, OR, etc etc. So the cost will be 3 to 4 times as much, for no added benefit, not to mention she now has to have someone in the waiting room at all times.

 

[theeedude]

This x100. The cost of care is going through the roof, and nothing has changed. A standard office visit has doubled for me in maybe a decade. Cost is still completely hidden. Doctors offices will go out of their way to not tell you the cost of a procedure. And doctors are still allowed to do BS to drive up costs.

For example, my mother has getting steroids injected into her back a few times a year for several years. She used to drive herself to the office, get the shot and be done within 45 minutes. Well she just moved and the new office treats it like surgery, has to have an anesthesiologist, OR, etc etc. So the cost will be 3 to 4 times as much, for no added benefit, not to mention she now has to have someone in the waiting room at all times.

What is your solution?

 

[Linux23]

Nationalized Healthcare with a Control Board in each region setting a maximum cap on procedures and services (for that region).

 

[brycejones]

I want single payer with rational implementation.

Completely serious question. What does rational implementation look like?

 

[zinfamous]

I want single payer with rational implementation.

Then why did 0% of republicans want that when it was in the first draft?

 

[maddogchen]

United Healthcare pays their executives a lot. Many execs jumped from my old hospital to United Healthcare because they paid them a lot more.

 

[zinfamous]

Completely serious question. What does rational implementation look like?

Oh, the catch!

(basically--no dem can propose it. no matter what. Details don't matter)