The challenge to the individual mandate will fail when the Supreme court rules
probably by the end of next year. Premiums, of course, will keep going up.
Insurance companies will then insist that the penalties are not high enough.
Of course, these are just excuses to keep raising premiums. Once the penalties
are the same cost as the insurance policy (and costs keep going up anyway) they will simply move on to other excuses for raising rates.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Health Care Reform Changes Not Likely
Although the republicans were voted in response to public anger about the health care reform law, expect no changes to the law other than those "friendly" to insurance companies and medical providers.
The individual mandate will not be repealed. In fact, the insurance lobby will ensure that the penalties for non-compliance are increased. This will be done as a "tack on" for some politically popular bill. The republicans will not have the political courage to restrain costs in healthcare spending. They will blame the democrats for the bill, while simultaneously revising it to actually make it worse. So by 2012 we will have:
1. No healthcare costs control board (Medical providers will lobby and succeed in getting it abolished)
2. Increased penalties on not complying with the individual mandate.
3. Lessening of restrictions on insurance companies (Minimum percentage spent on healthcare, etc.)
Sort of like the democrats given the right punch and the republicans giving the left punch and then both blaming each other for skyrocketing health care costs.
The individual mandate will not be repealed. In fact, the insurance lobby will ensure that the penalties for non-compliance are increased. This will be done as a "tack on" for some politically popular bill. The republicans will not have the political courage to restrain costs in healthcare spending. They will blame the democrats for the bill, while simultaneously revising it to actually make it worse. So by 2012 we will have:
1. No healthcare costs control board (Medical providers will lobby and succeed in getting it abolished)
2. Increased penalties on not complying with the individual mandate.
3. Lessening of restrictions on insurance companies (Minimum percentage spent on healthcare, etc.)
Sort of like the democrats given the right punch and the republicans giving the left punch and then both blaming each other for skyrocketing health care costs.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Tops Reasons for Anger against new Healthcare Reform Law:
Anger is about:
1. Bailouts of FIRE economy of which Health Insurance industry is one of those.
Although the original intentions of the bill may have been noble, the "sausage" making turned the bill into a Health Insurance industry bailout bill by enslaving Americans to be permanent customers of the industry.
2. Not reforming costs in system. Rewarding entities that fell to reduce costs.
HII (Health Insurance Industry) rewarded for not reducing costs by having government compel individuals to buy health insurance from private companies.
3. More onerous than Bank bailouts because money was printed via the federal reserve for bank bailouts. Money comes directly from individuals for HII bailout.
4. See "reform", as currently signed, as increasing costs, not reducing them. Many rational people see that you cannot increase benefits without improving efficiencies in the system. Only token actions to increase efficiencies are in the law.
5. A large section of the lower middle class will receive greatly subsidized healthcare. The greatest burden of this benefit falls upon the middle class (just above the subsidized group). These people reason correctly that there costs will go up. At race to the bottom may ensue. The have a legitimate concern that may very well be poorer as a result of this law.
6. Individual Mandates justified on the basis of saving a failing industry. Could you imagine justifying slavery in the 1860s based on saving the cotton industry?
Anger is NOT ABOUT:
1. Government Healthcare - This false perception is created by the Health insurance industry and lobbyists.
2. Health Care Reform in general. Many wanted to see STRONG cost reduction / efficiency mechanisms. Empower the PURCHASING CONSUMER, not the insurance companies.
Anger is about:
1. Bailouts of FIRE economy of which Health Insurance industry is one of those.
Although the original intentions of the bill may have been noble, the "sausage" making turned the bill into a Health Insurance industry bailout bill by enslaving Americans to be permanent customers of the industry.
2. Not reforming costs in system. Rewarding entities that fell to reduce costs.
HII (Health Insurance Industry) rewarded for not reducing costs by having government compel individuals to buy health insurance from private companies.
3. More onerous than Bank bailouts because money was printed via the federal reserve for bank bailouts. Money comes directly from individuals for HII bailout.
4. See "reform", as currently signed, as increasing costs, not reducing them. Many rational people see that you cannot increase benefits without improving efficiencies in the system. Only token actions to increase efficiencies are in the law.
5. A large section of the lower middle class will receive greatly subsidized healthcare. The greatest burden of this benefit falls upon the middle class (just above the subsidized group). These people reason correctly that there costs will go up. At race to the bottom may ensue. The have a legitimate concern that may very well be poorer as a result of this law.
6. Individual Mandates justified on the basis of saving a failing industry. Could you imagine justifying slavery in the 1860s based on saving the cotton industry?
Anger is NOT ABOUT:
1. Government Healthcare - This false perception is created by the Health insurance industry and lobbyists.
2. Health Care Reform in general. Many wanted to see STRONG cost reduction / efficiency mechanisms. Empower the PURCHASING CONSUMER, not the insurance companies.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Individual Mandate is Actually a Very Large Tax Increase on the Middle Class
That's right.
Most will be forced to pay for service that they will never need or overpay for services based on their demographic group. This extra money is effectively a tax (redistribution) that the government can redestribute as it sees fit. The beautiful thing (from the government's viewpoint) is that this is not sold as a tax increase.
Most will be forced to pay for service that they will never need or overpay for services based on their demographic group. This extra money is effectively a tax (redistribution) that the government can redestribute as it sees fit. The beautiful thing (from the government's viewpoint) is that this is not sold as a tax increase.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
What will happen with "Health Care Reform"?
What will happen with "Health Care Reform"?
1. Health Care will become more expensive by all nearly all measures - as percent of GDP, as percent of average household income , cost per procedure, etc. Politicians will claim that it would have been worse without the reform to protect themselves from political fallout.
2. Access to Healthcare will decrease - waiting times will increase for all.
3. Those on the low end of the income spectrum will be better off because of increased subsidized care. The middle class will be worse off because of having to pay higher premiums and taxes (as well as lower access as mentioned above).
4. Private insurance companies will grow significantly with increased profits from mandated insurance premiums on enterprises and individuals. Small private insurance companies will merge or go out of business because of not being able to function with government mandates. The companies left will achieve the same status as TBTF financial firms. They will use this financial muscle to increase their political clout. Expect to see similar scandals concerning bonuses in the health insurance industry similar to what we currently see in the financial sector.
5. The mandated insurance premium money stream will be taxed by the government to fund other activities (in addition to subsidizing healthcare for low income families). This will cause the costs of the premiums to go up. Politicians will not call this a "tax" but it will be functionally one anyway.
6. The federal government bureaucracy concerning healthcare will also greatly increase in size because of the huge regulatory and enforcement burden from all the rules and mandates.
7. Politicians that voted for the reform will insist that "Health Care Reform" is working by pointing to the increased numbers of insured families (although this was achieved by mandates to purchase covereage). They will also say that more time is needed for the reforms to work.
1. Health Care will become more expensive by all nearly all measures - as percent of GDP, as percent of average household income , cost per procedure, etc. Politicians will claim that it would have been worse without the reform to protect themselves from political fallout.
2. Access to Healthcare will decrease - waiting times will increase for all.
3. Those on the low end of the income spectrum will be better off because of increased subsidized care. The middle class will be worse off because of having to pay higher premiums and taxes (as well as lower access as mentioned above).
4. Private insurance companies will grow significantly with increased profits from mandated insurance premiums on enterprises and individuals. Small private insurance companies will merge or go out of business because of not being able to function with government mandates. The companies left will achieve the same status as TBTF financial firms. They will use this financial muscle to increase their political clout. Expect to see similar scandals concerning bonuses in the health insurance industry similar to what we currently see in the financial sector.
5. The mandated insurance premium money stream will be taxed by the government to fund other activities (in addition to subsidizing healthcare for low income families). This will cause the costs of the premiums to go up. Politicians will not call this a "tax" but it will be functionally one anyway.
6. The federal government bureaucracy concerning healthcare will also greatly increase in size because of the huge regulatory and enforcement burden from all the rules and mandates.
7. Politicians that voted for the reform will insist that "Health Care Reform" is working by pointing to the increased numbers of insured families (although this was achieved by mandates to purchase covereage). They will also say that more time is needed for the reforms to work.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Socialized Healthcare
Healthcare in the US will eventually be nearly completely socialized. Though a "free" market
in healthcare would produced the lowest costs and highest quality of care, the disparities in quality of care between rich and poor will simply not be politically acceptable.
Once one accepts the inevitable fact of socilized healthcare, then it is easy to see that there is very little role for private health insurance. Private health insurance carriers in neary all cases would be in the "Too Big to Fail" (TBTF) category because the government will not let a private health insurance company fail leaving the premium holders without health insurance. We now know that TBTF means an implied government backing. Implied government backing induces private enterprises to engage in risky profiteering behaviour because they know the government will bail them out if their ventures fail. The private insurance companies will pay themselves hefty salaries and bonuses similiar to AIG.
So it is obvious. Private insurance in this environment would be needless "middle men" entities raking in profits for its own benefit with negative effects to the payers in the system.
If socialized healthcare is inevitable, I do not want the private health insurance companies "pretending" to represent a bogus free market in healthcare. Many, like myself, see that they are only positioning themselves to siphon money from the socialized healthcare complex.
in healthcare would produced the lowest costs and highest quality of care, the disparities in quality of care between rich and poor will simply not be politically acceptable.
Once one accepts the inevitable fact of socilized healthcare, then it is easy to see that there is very little role for private health insurance. Private health insurance carriers in neary all cases would be in the "Too Big to Fail" (TBTF) category because the government will not let a private health insurance company fail leaving the premium holders without health insurance. We now know that TBTF means an implied government backing. Implied government backing induces private enterprises to engage in risky profiteering behaviour because they know the government will bail them out if their ventures fail. The private insurance companies will pay themselves hefty salaries and bonuses similiar to AIG.
So it is obvious. Private insurance in this environment would be needless "middle men" entities raking in profits for its own benefit with negative effects to the payers in the system.
If socialized healthcare is inevitable, I do not want the private health insurance companies "pretending" to represent a bogus free market in healthcare. Many, like myself, see that they are only positioning themselves to siphon money from the socialized healthcare complex.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
More Lies of 2010
Top insurance executives were grilled by a congressional committee to explain why the average health insurance premium has skyrocketed by more than 20% in less than a year after healthcare reform was signed into law:
Executive X said that is was because of the increased demand in healthcare services. "The increased demand in healthcare services was not expected."
Robert Coulter, blogger at severitysquared.blogspot.com, was one of the few that predicted the sharp increase in insurance premiums upon passage of healthcare reform. He said that it was obvious that once healthcare insurance wss mandated that individuals would tap the healthcare system for more services to extract all the value they can out of their policies. Why let the premiums go to waste or to someone else?
Executive X said that is was because of the increased demand in healthcare services. "The increased demand in healthcare services was not expected."
Robert Coulter, blogger at severitysquared.blogspot.com, was one of the few that predicted the sharp increase in insurance premiums upon passage of healthcare reform. He said that it was obvious that once healthcare insurance wss mandated that individuals would tap the healthcare system for more services to extract all the value they can out of their policies. Why let the premiums go to waste or to someone else?
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