Income Up 17.5% Since 2000, Health Ins. Up 95%..

[Wedgebuster]

What health care crisis?

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/p ... 17_5_.html

[dbackjon]

The organization blamed the higher prices on the rising cost and increased use of medical treatments, inadequate oversight of insurance companies, lack of competition among insurers in many markets, and cost-shifting from the growing numbers of uninsured to the insured.

The higher prices have also made it more difficult for people to get insurance through their jobs. Nationally, 63 percent of U.S. companies offered health insurance to employees in 2008. That is down from 69 percent in 2000.


In Pennsylvania, Families USA found that:

From 2000 to 2009, the average price of a family health insurance premium purchased by an employer rose from $6,721 to $13,116.

The employer share of that premium grew by $4,531, to $9,955, or 83.5 percent.

The average worker's share rose 143.7 percent, from $1,297 to $3,161.

The price of a premium for an individual climbed 93.9 percent, from $2,467 in 2000 to $4,782 in 2009.

The employer share of an individual premium went up to $3,879 from $2,094, an 85.2 percent increase.

The employee's share grew 142 percent, from $373 to $904.

[Wedgebuster]

Just can't see what the problem is. Focusing on the obscene increases of medical costs is the glass half empty approach. One must not discount the positive impact of all the wealth that was created in a short amount of time for those in the health business. A sort of "redistribution of wealth" so to speak.

[Grizalltheway]

The organization blamed the higher prices on the rising cost and increased use of medical treatments, inadequate oversight of insurance companies, lack of competition among insurers in many markets, and cost-shifting from the growing numbers of uninsured to the insured.

The higher prices have also made it more difficult for people to get insurance through their jobs. Nationally, 63 percent of U.S. companies offered health insurance to employees in 2008. That is down from 69 percent in 2000.


In Pennsylvania, Families USA found that:

From 2000 to 2009, the average price of a family health insurance premium purchased by an employer rose from $6,721 to $13,116.

The employer share of that premium grew by $4,531, to $9,955, or 83.5 percent.

The average worker's share rose 143.7 percent, from $1,297 to $3,161.

The price of a premium for an individual climbed 93.9 percent, from $2,467 in 2000 to $4,782 in 2009.

The employer share of an individual premium went up to $3,879 from $2,094, an 85.2 percent increase.

The employee's share grew 142 percent, from $373 to $904.

Nuh uh, it's all the ambulance chasers' fault!!!

[Wedgebuster]

Gee, where are all the "everything is fine in the health industry" gang on this thread??

Must be busy debunking the housing sales figures from last month.

[UNI88]

Gee, where are all the "everything is fine in the health industry" gang on this thread??

Must be busy debunking the housing sales figures from last month.

I've never said everything is fine in the health industry. I just don't want a solution that looks like it is going to be worse than the problem.

And while we're at it there is a link between the "ambulance chasers" and the increased use of medical treatments - medical professionals are so afraid of a lawsuit that they order every test they can in order to cover their azzes.

Inadequate oversight of insurance companies? There are 50 states with 50 departments of insurance regulating insurance companies. Is it the insurance companies fault or the DOI's? If you can't trust the government to provide adequate oversight of insurance companies how can you trust it to actually provide the insurance?

Lack of competition among insurers? Why not allow health insurers to provide coverage in additional states? That would spur competition. The best providers would survive and the bad ones would disappear.

You want the federal government to play a bigger role in insurance, switch to federal regulation and do away with the state DOI's. Insurance companies would save money (that they could be required to pass on to consumers) by not being required to have separate actuaries, underwriters, and technology focused on different states. States would save money by being able to lay off those bureaucrats in each DOI. Wait, that can't happen because some of those bureaucrats are probably members of AFSCME or SEIU and heaven forbid that their ability to make money be questioned.

[Col Hogan]

Gee, where are all the "everything is fine in the health industry" gang on this thread??

Must be busy debunking the housing sales figures from last month.

I've never said everything is fine in the health industry. I just don't want a solution that looks like it is going to be worse than the problem.

And while we're at it there is a link between the "ambulance chasers" and the increased use of medical treatments - medical professionals are so afraid of a lawsuit that they order every test they can in order to cover their azzes.

Inadequate oversight of insurance companies? There are 50 states with 50 departments of insurance regulating insurance companies. Is it the insurance companies fault or the DOI's? If you can't trust the government to provide adequate oversight of insurance companies how can you trust it to actually provide the insurance?

Lack of competition among insurers? Why not allow health insurers to provide coverage in additional states? That would spur competition. The best providers would survive and the bad ones would disappear.

You want the federal government to play a bigger role in insurance, switch to federal regulation and do away with the state DOI's. Insurance companies would save money (that they could be required to pass on to consumers) by not being required to have separate actuaries, underwriters, and technology focused on different states. States would save money by being able to lay off those bureaucrats in each DOI. Wait, that can't happen because some of those bureaucrats are probably members of AFSCME or SEIU and heaven forbid that their ability to make money be questioned.

Spot on, 88...

The current "health care reform" legislation does nothing to address the root causes of rapidly rising health care costs...

Tort reform would reduce health care costs immediately...

The government option would not create any competition...it would simply have the taxpayers subsidize costs which artificially lowers costs...it doesn't fix anything...

And 88 makes an outstanding point about the state departments of insurance...where are they in this entire process....aren't they suppose to be the public watch dog on the insurance industry???

I don't know anyone who has said there isn't a problem with health care costs....But no one on the Democratic side of this argument has offered up true reform....just the same old "government is the cure of all evils" solutions...

[dbackjon]

How about reform Big Pharma?

With 25% of budgets going to advertising that would be a huge cost savings

[Col Hogan]

How shot reform Big Pharma?

With 25% of budgets going to advertising that would be a huge cost savings

That would be good reform...but is it in the legislation???

[Eric]

The issues in housing and health care can easily be traced by government regulation. No company that I know of can go bankrupt and run away with a profit--Unless they know beforehand that the government will bail them out. The Congress passed laws that in effect made companies go along with giving out these "toxic loans" to people who can't afford them. Of course, the Federal Reserve helped in the recession, too.

Health care is the root cause of the issue here. Insurance has to cover for the cost of the care. State-level regulation is holding up more competition for customers. This is what the federal government is supposed to be doing according to the Constitution by "regulating interstate commerce." It's too bad that capitalism and the Constitution solve most problems by themselves but nobody takes the time to study them

Has anybody studied the amount of fraud and waste in Medicare? Has anybody noticed how massive entitlement programs are on the verge of bankruptcy? Has anybody studied the "complete lives system" of Dr. Ezekiel Emmanuel, an Obama adviser and Rahm's brother?