Health Insurance Is Not Synonymous With Health Care

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Massachusetts has a mandatory health insurance coverage plan, if you don't have health insurance, can pay up to 900 bucks per year in additonal taxes. This opened the door for crooks to sell health insurance that either doesn't cover anything or doesn't meet the minimum state coverage requirements. The key word is that one point sized print that is under the heading of exclusions.

Certainly hope they do not use Massachusetts as a model.

Health insurance companies redefines the meaning of the middleman, really don't do anything nor provide any service of any useful value, but provide a means of sharing medical expenses.

Say if they had 1,000 policy holders each paying 12,000 per year, that's 12 million bucks, but to stay in business, can only pay out 6 million in benefits, because they have an operating cost of 25% plus try to make another 25% for the stockholders. Translated, this means policy holders are paying twice as much for their actual medical treatment. To maintain their profit margin, need a strong say in medical benefits, what tests can be done nor not done, thus dictating to the doctor what they can and cannot do. Plus consuming the doctors' office and his staff in many additional hours in dealing with them.

A fun exercise would be to add up all of your medical bills for the last 25 years plus putting your policy payments in a good investment fund, if you can find one today, and see what the difference would be, you may learn that you would have been a millionaire. Some clinics have opened on a cash only basis with far reduced rates as they don't have to deal with insurance companies. Health insurance companies are one big fat parasite. Has to be a better way.

That's odd, I live there and never hear or read about crooked health policies. If your employer doesn't provide insurance, and you cannot afford a plan on your own, there are four providers you can chose from to get reduced cost coverage. Check out http://www.mahealthconnector.org/portal/site/connector/ for more info.

I knew it! You are a Massachusetts liberal!

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

And how many people actually get health insurance through their job these days?

Everyone I know does. Let me look for a poll though.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

And how many people actually get health insurance through their job these days?

Everyone I know does. Let me look for a poll though.

Factor in self employed in there somewhere, and folks that get their insurance through their spouse's employer. Leave out the kids, and the old people, and you might just find that is where the majority of what is left get their insurance. I think there was a general poll here on VJ a while back.

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The percentage of people (workers and dependents) with employment-based health insurance has dropped from 70 percent in 1987 to 62 percent in 2007. This is the lowest level of employment-based insurance coverage in more than a decade.

http://www.nchc.org/facts/coverage.shtml

[rebeccajo 14]

You know what I don't understand about health care coverage in America and American capitalism?

Why is it such a great system to have the majority of the cost of health care on the backs of American entrepreneurs?

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

You know what I don't understand about health care coverage in America and American capitalism?

Why is it such a great system to have the majority of the cost of health care on the backs of American entrepreneurs?

It sucks. Give the doctor a house on the edge of town, and let him accept fried chicken and apple pie as payment for his services. Works in Alaska!

[mawilson 2,133]

Most group policies cover pre-existing. It's the individual policies that tend not to.

Also, not just chronic illnesses but major surgical interventions in response to life threatening events ... reveal a lot about the quality of coverage.

And how many people actually get health insurance through their job these days? I remember how elated my husband was about getting his job because it was one of the few companies left who still offered comprehensive health insurance.

62 percent of Americans.