My Healthcare Plan

[dt3]

I posted this in the healthcare thread, and was summarily ignored. So I'll post it again here and see if somebody will reply:

Here's an idea I came up with in the car this morning. Feel free to criticize, even if you have no better alternative.

What if, instead of this current atrocity trying to be forced down our throats, the government went to the insurance companies and told them that for every X number of currently uninsured people they give policies to, the company can then write off the amount of the coverage from their taxes.

It doesn't require any money up front from the government, uninsured people get free coverage, and it seems like it'd be a very powerful incentive for the companies too.

What's wrong with this idea? Because I honestly don't see a problem with it.

 

[Lord Stanley]

sounds too good to be true

 

[Alien Allen]

So you posted this idea elsewhere before but came up with this idea in the car this morning ??

How did you do that?

 

[Thornless]

He copy pasted I think.... unless he lives in the now and then

Side note: I like the idea.

 

[Alien Allen]

what taxes do the non profits pay to begin with?

Blue Cross just raised their rates in MI 22% for individuals that are not in a group plan:eek

 

[dt3]

So you posted this idea elsewhere before but came up with this idea in the car this morning ??

How did you do that?

The magic of copy/paste. Shouldn't you be out for a very long walk? Preferably off a very short pier...

 

[dt3]

what taxes do the non profits pay to begin with?

Blue Cross just raised their rates in MI 22% for individuals that are not in a group plan:eek

From the BC wikipedia page:

"Though all Blue Cross Blue Shield plans must pay Federal income tax under the Tax Reform Act of 1986, some plans are still considered not-for-profit at the state level."

 

[Alien Allen]

the magic of copy/paste. Shouldn't you be out for a very long walk? Preferably off a very short pier...

:24::24::24:

 

[thatguyjeff]

That idea is lose/lose - except for the consumer.

Gov't loses tax revenue. Ins co. loses earnings.

The cost of coverage (the premium) isn't the issue when it comes to many who can't get insurance. It's because they tend to be the most expensive to insure. They have chronic health conditions. And the cost of their care is too great to offset any tax savings.

Take one hemophiliac. Their health care expenditures can run over $1 million in under 10 years.

 

[dt3]

That idea is lose/lose - except for the consumer.

Gov't loses tax revenue. Ins co. loses earnings.

The cost of coverage (the premium) isn't the issue when it comes to many who can't get insurance. It's because they tend to be the most expensive to insure. They have chronic health conditions. And the cost of their care is too great to offset any tax savings.

Take one hemophiliac. Their health care expenditures can run over $1 million in under 10 years.

With this plan the government does lose tax revenue, but it doesn't require billions upfront like the current POS plan in Congress.

I think the insurance companies would be extremely open to the idea, especially considering the current alternative that would require them to compete with the government (which we all know can operate at a significant loss indefinitely).

I think the tax write-off would entice the companies to insure the higher-risk patients, because it decreases their tax burden significantly. On the surface, the insurance company does lose money in the long run, but like I said I can't help but think they would at least consider this as opposed to the current alternative.

 

[thatguyjeff]

Figure too that profit margins aren't as great as many people believe. Everyone (or many) assume the ins cos are raking in big bucks. They aren't.

There was an article very recently that said - of the total healthcare spending in the US last year, the ins cos only generated 0.5% of that figure as profit. That means that 99.5% of all health care spending is not going back to the ins cos.

That's less than one penny of every dollar you spend on healthcare. Reducing that margin by even the smallest amount doesn't sound enticing in the least. Not to me anyway.

 

[Peter Parka]

Making money out of peoples illness dosen't sound very inticing to me either.

 

[IntruderLS1]

The only problem would be that there would be a huge flood of people dropping their insurance in order to obtain the free, federally backed insurance.

Then come the lawsuits and investigations when the insurance companies pull the offer off the table. Who gets what, and why not everybody else?

Back to big evil corporation, taking advantage of the poor, helpless people.

When did the idea of government saftey nets get mixed up with lifetime government mommy and daddy?

 

[Guyzerr]

Making money out of peoples illness dosen't sound very inticing to me either.

But... but...but the big insurance thugs do it already by charging the sick more than they can afford.

Fuck it! I'm out of here. I've got a doctors appt. to keep and so far it will be free. If I miss it I gotta pay. **** zoom.... zoom ***

 

[Codrus]

YouTube - Ronald Reagan Speaks Out Against Socialized Medicine

 

[ssl]

I posted this in the healthcare thread, and was summarily ignored. So I'll post it again here and see if somebody will reply:

Here's an idea I came up with in the car this morning. Feel free to criticize, even if you have no better alternative.

What if, instead of this current atrocity trying to be forced down our throats, the government went to the insurance companies and told them that for every X number of currently uninsured people they give policies to, the company can then write off the amount of the coverage from their taxes.

It doesn't require any money up front from the government, uninsured people get free coverage, and it seems like it'd be a very powerful incentive for the companies too.

What's wrong with this idea? Because I honestly don't see a problem with it.

Thinking.

You're doing it wrong.

 

[Accountable]

Looks good on the surface, but ignores the reality of politics.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gotta hand it to the Huffington Post. I never thought they'd print anything against the democrats.

Internal Memo Confirms Big Giveaways In White House Deal With Big Pharma

A memo obtained by the Huffington Post confirms that the White House and the pharmaceutical lobby secretly agreed to precisely the sort of wide-ranging deal that both parties have been denying over the past week.

[...]
It says the White House agreed to oppose any congressional efforts to use the government's leverage to bargain for lower drug prices or import drugs from Canada -- and also agreed not to pursue Medicare rebates or shift some drugs from Medicare Part B to Medicare Part D, which would cost Big Pharma billions in reduced reimbursements.

In exchange, the Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers Association (PhRMA) agreed to cut $80 billion in projected costs to taxpayers and senior citizens over ten years.

Healthcare FLASHBACKS (VIDEO)

 

[ssl]

Wow.

They typed the memo twice. (once in the image form, then word for word in their own text for the article).

I guess they really want to drive some point home, but being redundant about it is... wasteful.

 

[Accountable]

It's the way of the left.

 

[thatguyjeff]

Making money out of peoples illness dosen't sound very inticing to me either.

Gotta nitpick on you.

Ins cos loose money when people are sick. They make money on the healthy. It's in everyone's best (financial) interest that you stay healthy.