Health Care Time Bomb?

[Capt. Slo-mo]

It sounds bad, but apparently it's a good thing. Just maybe not for the private health care insurance companies...

Nice to see the government able to resist lobbying pressure for a change.

[erooMynohtnA]

Obamunism!

Seriously though, it strikes me as pretty sketchy for the government to regulate how much profit a company can make. Since it is coming from my Comrade in Chief, I am willing to see how it shakes it before I condemn it.

[Purple Fencer]

Obamunism!

Seriously though, it strikes me as pretty sketchy for the government to regulate how much profit a company can make. Since it is coming from my Comrade in Chief, I am willing to see how it shakes it before I condemn it.

It's not so much a restriction on profit as it's a requirement that more of the premium payments actually go to the coverage being purchased.

I don't think anyone would have an issue with an HMO taking in a billion in gross premium payment so long as 800-850 million of that goes to paying for treatment when it's required and not the the legal department trying to find ways of getting out of delivering the services the customer's been paying for.

[erooMynohtnA]

It's not so much that 5 is 2 plus three as it is 3 plus two. Meaningless distinction

[Inquartata]

But "if you like your insurance, you'll be able to keep it". Yeah.

Which wicked industry is next in the crosshairs for statist control/annexation, one wonders?

[erik_blank]

I find that it is really interesting to see this on the Forbes web site... Not the most liberal of publications.... For my part, I can hope that the for profits can find a way to keep in business while actually providing the services that they had contracted to provide....

[jeff]

Indeed. Interesting closing quote for a non-liberal outlet:

If you believe that the end of private, for-profit health insurance is some type of nefarious step towards a socialist society, then you might want to attend church this Sunday to mourn the loss of health insurers being able to worm out of covering the bills of a cancer patient because she forgot to write down on her application that she had skin acne for three months when she was a teenager.

Of course, those of you who fear the inevitable arrival of universal health care really shouldn’t be too fretful. There will always be a for-profit health insurance industry for those who want to pay for it. The only difference will be that those who cannot afford private coverage will also have an opportunity to get their families the medical care that they need

Everyone wins-except the for-profit health insurers.

I can live with that.

[Capt. Slo-mo]

Which wicked industry is next in the crosshairs for statist control/annexation, one wonders?

"Alex, I'll take 'All of Them' for $500 please."

[Inquartata]

I understand that it's tough to emigrate to North Korea, but Cuba and Venezuela are options.

[Capt. Slo-mo]

Let us know how it works out for you. I understand Somalia scores well for least government interference with your business activities by taxation, too.

I have a hard time summoning up much sympathy for the insurance companies, given their business behavior. I go to Best Buy, and pay for a 12 month lay away on the new 80 inch Samsung HDTV. When I go to pick it up, they don't suddenly say, "I'm sorry but in your lay away paperwork that we've had for a year, we just now discovered you didn't tell us you had an HHGregg store card 23 years ago. Sorry, but you can't have the TV, and you don't get a refund."

If the 85/15 rule means that Aetna's CEO has to make do with $18M instead of $24M a year in compensation, but a handful of kids get cancer treatments, so be it.

[Inquartata]

Let us know how it works out for you. I understand Somalia scores well for least government interference with your business activities by taxation, too.

Ah, but I didn't say "Alex, I'll take ALL taxes for $500, please".

I have a hard time summoning up much sympathy for the insurance companies, given their business behavior.

Such a great reason to adopt socialism: Lack of 'sympathy'.

I go to Best Buy, and pay for a 12 month lay away on the new 80 inch Samsung HDTV. When I go to pick it up, they don't suddenly say, "I'm sorry but in your lay away paperwork that we've had for a year, we just now discovered you didn't tell us you had an HHGregg store card 23 years ago. Sorry, but you can't have the TV, and you don't get a refund."

I'm sure that someone will be along shortly to tell you how lousy and inapplicable that metaphor is...

Or maybe not, given how popular lefty thought is hereabouts.

[I_luv_saber]

"Alex, I'll take 'All of Them' for $500 please."

Not to nitpick, but there is no $500 category on Jeopardy anymore.

[Inquartata]

Stupid inflation.

[Capt. Slo-mo]

I go to Best Buy, and pay for a 12 month lay away on the new 80 inch Samsung HDTV. When I go to pick it up, they don't suddenly say, "I'm sorry but in your lay away paperwork that we've had for a year, we just now discovered you didn't tell us you had an HHGregg store card 23 years ago. Sorry, but you can't have the TV, and you don't get a refund."***

I'm sure that someone will be along shortly to tell you how lousy and inapplicable that metaphor is...

***(not intended as a factual statement)

Unless of course, the standard Best Buy layaway paperwork now also includes the same much-beloved insurancese phraseology like: "Have you visited a credit site at any time in the past, and is there any credit issue of which you are aware that a reasonable person could/would/should have known about that may have negatively impacted your credit at any time, or that of any person in the past three generations of your patrilinear and matrilinear family?"