Quote:
Originally Posted by AGDee
Most insurance companies are in the business of making money. Most are not non-profits.
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Ahh and therein lies the problem!
My $0.02 on the matter:
Yes, being uninsured sucks & has problems; however, making insurance mandatory (thinking of the mandatory auto insurance law in Ca.) doesn't really work either. Why doesn't it work, (using results of aforementioned auto insurance) if you can't afford insurance you still won't buy it; or you'll sign up just to re-register you vehicle (or avoid the income tax penalty) then drop it. When Sacramento passed this idea the residents of the state heard the lip service from the insurance Co.s that they would offer 'low-cost' insurance for low-income residents (yeah right!) Now I've always held auto insurance (which has ALWAYS been higher than my registration/license fees have been!) But I scoff at their idea of what 'affordable' insurance is *especially* when the coverage is minimal.
How does this relate to med insurance? A for profit Co.s idea of what low cost & affordable is will be much different than the low income worker's idea who is living paycheck to paycheck (if that); perhaps the Gov't subsidies will assist, but what's the cost of that, more national debt that the taxpayers get to deal with via higher taxes *&* med insurance increases?
IMO costs need to be contained *first* before you mandate for everyone to have coverage for the out-of-control costs. How can this be achieved? a couple (less than conservative) ideas:
-nationalize health care; make health care administrators and providers government employees with set compensation, eliminating the for-profit 'must-
raise-profits-
each-year-for-our-stockholders' mentality
-reduce litigation; implement the (European?) system where if you LOSE you pay legal council fees for BOTH sides (this should reduce frivolous lawsuits) side tangent: redesign the juror system and adopt the (British?)system (isn't our legal system based upon theirs in the 1st place) incorporate 'professional jurors' that can be educated about matters, legalities, technology, etc. (cringing every time I think of the OJ Simpson trial; yikes!)
Sorry for going on, but it really irks me when legislation is passed that is 'supposed' to improve a situation but it is more about the elected Representatives concern about touting their own horn for re-election than taking the time to analyze policy and creating something that will actually address and improve the situation!
But hey, isn't it supposed to take effect in 2013; so plenty of time for those bureaucrats to revise, delay, extend deadlines, and ammend away for the next three years!