A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Demonizing Private Insurance Companies

Written By : William Teach

Over the past few months, we have heard and read about Democrat leaders doing their typical “hey, let’s insult, demean, damage, and demonize yet another private entity” in regards to the health insurance industry. They tell us that the private health insurance companies should be more like the selfless government run Medicare. Yeah, about that (via Big Government through Newsbusters)

Beverly Gossage, Research Fellow for Show-Me Institute and founder of HSA Benefits Consulting wondered which insurance companies rejected the most claims. She found her answer in the AMA’s own 2008 National Health Insurer Report Card. The chart below appears on page 5 of the 16-page report.

(You can see a larger size chart at Big Government or here)

So, the largest denier of claims is……hey, that awesome government run Medicare (my company has UHC, United Health Care, and I have never heard about anyone being denied, and, it obviously rarely happens.)

Imagine what will happen when even more people are on Medicare and the government is cutting their funding. Say, let’s ask a doctor who wasn’t among the hand picked Obama campaign contributers invited to the White House

Today, Medicare already reimburses doctors less than what many of their treatments cost to provide. Now the government is saying that additional Medicare cuts are coming—thus forcing doctors to try and make up the difference in volume, by seeing more patients. If you ask patients about this, they understand that more volume means less time with the doctor. That’s something that all patients and doctors should oppose. In time, it will be difficult to find a physician.

Of course, there is another part to that: more and more doctors opting out of providing Medicare services, as they have been doing already. Will government mandate by federal law that they all take Medicare, as well as the government option?

More: speaking of Obama’s cute little doctor and pony show yesterday

“When you cut through all the noise and all the distractions that are out there, I think what’s most telling is that some of the people who are most supportive of reform are the very medical professionals who know the health-care system best,” the president said.

In other words, shut your mouths, American people! Barry knows best! No mention of the massive amount of doctors who marched on Washington on October 1st in opposition to Barry’s House Democrats plan to destroy the American health care system. Yeah, Barry didn’t meet with them. Shocker.

Underlying the strictly photo-op nature of the event, The Associated Press noted that Obama broke no new ground in his remarks.

Still voting present and attempting to rely on campaign rhetoric, rather than any sort of executive leadership.

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove

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Mike_M

Imagine how much higher those numbers will go when Medicare is put under the microscope to eliminate waste and fraud, and pressured heavily to create cost savings. Econ 101: Greater demand and static or reduced cost equals shortages.

Wait for that percentage to creep up near 10%, and for the government to start cutting costs at the easiest point: end of life care.

Voila…death panels. Just like in every other country with socialized medicine. They're not a scare tactic or even a malicious action by governments, just a simple fact of economics. Liberals, through ignorance or omission, don't seem to care.
BIG

Many doctors today do not accept Medicare patients. A poll was done a few months ago saying if the Democrats plan is passed, 40% of the doctors responded that they will either retire of close their practices. There is not a penny in this proposed legislation to train new doctors, so where are all these new patients as well as the rest of us going to go to see a doctor?

I actually believe that we should be copying Canada in one of their areas of healthcare. They have these medical brokers that go out and get American services priced beforehand so Canadian citizens can go to the USA for the healthcare being denied them at home. They negotiate prices that are a fraction of what we get charged. If cutting costs is the reason for this legislation, why not use a system that has proven to work?

The more I look at this, the more I realize that this isn't about healthcare reform. It is all about nationalizing 1/6th of our economy. And all Americans are going to suffer as a result of this legislation.
NorthernCanuck

"so where are all these new patients as well as the rest of us going to go to see a doctor?"

Two and a half years in the town I'm currently living in; still hitting the clinic as I have no regular doctor. Was in Calgary, a much larger city, for a year and a half previously. Went on a waiting list for a family physician the day I arrived, when I moved I was still on that list.

My experience is not anecdotal; any Canadian that relocates will tell you the same thing.

When I moved to the States one of the first things I did was get a list of doctors to start calling and getting on a waiting list, it's what I was conditioned for. I was shocked when I was told "how does Tuesday work for you". And those were the exact words, they stick in my mind because it was so unusual.

Government run health care sucks. Period. And it isn't free. Also; most jobs, including McDonalds, offer supplemental health care plans.
http://www.reddirtdude.blogspot.com President_Friedman

"They negotiate prices that are a fraction of what we get charged. If cutting costs is the reason for this legislation, why not use a system that has proven to work?"

Posted by BIG

2009-10-06 08:58:21

Americans have some ability to do this today, as I recently learned. My family has a high-deductible HSA plan, basically meaning that the first $4,000 of our healthcare each year comes directly out of our pocket. With that being the case, on the rare occasion where we need a procedure done, we shop around. My wife has some back problems and had to get an epidural steroid injection a few months back. We talked to every place in Oklahoma City that performs this procedure, let them know that we were trying to find the best price possible, and the result was this: we got the procedure done for $350, when some other places (offering supposedly 'discounted rates' for being part of insurers healthcare network) had priced it at $1000.

Shopping this around was a major time consuming pain in the ass, and I definitely would have given some of that savings to a third party for doing the shopping for me. I think you are right that there is a business model in there somewhere.
BIG

Posted by whats_up

2009-10-06 14:05:22

There are a lot of business models out there that would make sense, but they are not included in what is being presented to us. WHere is the tort reform? Where is the training of new medical professionals to take care of all these new patients? All I have seen is a push to put private insurance out of business and to lower our healthcare to what it is like in the rest of the world.
wylie_e_coyote

The left are huge hypocrtics when it comes to their fake demonization of private insurance. In fact, they want to give them millions of new customers thru their Individual Mandate and a national Monoploy markert thru theres so-called "exchange" – only the largest private insurance firms will survive this regulation and any real choice and competition will be ruined.

In exchange for this corrupt bargin with big insurance firms, the left gets to take over Health Care since they will be seting the rules, forcing you into the government dominated system, and handing out billions in subsides to their political favored groups and their big/rich health insurance industry buddies.

This is simply Chicago thug "pay to play" politics at the national level!

They are trying to paint this heavy-handed government action to force people to buy a private product as a “practical” choice. This leftist counteroffensive to ROB us of our rights as a free born citizen to make our own choices!

These people are being rational with their money and the left wants to FORCE THEIR OPINION ON THEM! They are going to tell us to buy their government Health Insurance or go to jail!

Here are the real facts about the so-called “Free rider” talking point!

(1) Uncompensated care you cite is 1% of total annual HC costs! This problem is SOOO SMALL in the trillions being spent its laughable! So you want to turn our HC system over to the FED GOVT for 1% of the cost and less then 3% of the population who doesn’t choose to buy HC insurance!

Look at your Health Insurance Bill, figure out what 1% is – not much! And far, far, far less then how much the FED GOVT will drive up premium costs with bs regulation, fees and taxes!

The 1% is a small cost to pay to keep my liberty, right to choose to purchase health insurance, and to KEEP THE FEDS out!

(2) You presuppose ALL uninsured people don’t PAY the BILL for their medical care! Again, FALSE! Most people do try to pay, up to 75%. Some people actually save and pay out of their saving or pocket. You fall for the typical arrogant thinking – that your neighbor IS not doing the right thing when in fact most are. You would pay for your HC. Again, we want to take away rights based on false information and a small percentage of the population.

Here is how Health Policy expert Michael Cannon at the CATO Institute puts it:

“The left’s most powerful argument in favor of an Individual Mandate – that the Uninsured sometimes end up in the ER, and unable to pay their bills – isn’t powerful enough. The appropriate response to this problem is not to take away the freedom of the non-free riders. The appropriate response is to leave the non-free riders alone, to place the cost of the “uncompensated” care on the would-be free riders, and to write off any remaining uncompensated care as the price of living in a free and decent society.”

Here is an article that debunks these leftist lies about the Uninsured!

http://townhall.com/columnists/JacobSullum/2009/0…

Contrary to popular opinion in the media, the Individual Mandate, not the so-called public option is the key to stopping Obamcare in its tracks. Stop the Individual Mandate and the whole bill will unravel for lack of funding and mandatory participation in the scheme!

This is a very dangerous period because Nationalization will still occur even without an overt government run insurance plan like this "public option" provision everyone keeps fixating on – Wyden/Bennett and the Bacus bill are prime examples of this.

Individual Mandates to buy private insurance sound like a “free market” solution and “individual responsibility” but in this context they are not – they are simply a front for a government run system. Many conservatives can be easily fooled by this faux “private” front (Mitt Romney was) .

Here are the core elements what will be contained in the “health care reform compromise” after the so-called “public option” is in all likelihood dropped:

(a) Federal Regulation aka HEALTH CZAR/DEATH PANELS

(b) Employer/Individual Mandates aka NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE

(c) Government Subsidies aka MIDDLE CLASS MEDICAL WELFARE

With the Federal Government setting the rules, forcing everyone to participate, and is paying the bills for most of the middle class through subsidies how is this anything other than Nationalization?

Obamacare or any other plan that contains Individual Mandates is a corrupt bargain that benefits DC Politicians, Big Union, Big Industry, and Big/Nanny Government. The losers that get stuck with the bill and socialist medicine are the young, the elderly, the taxpayer and small business.

Its amazaing how stupid the left really is – they dont even know when they are being scammed lol!
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[...] 2.A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Demonizing Private Insurance They tell us that the private health insurance companies should be more like the selfless government run Medicare. Yeah, about that (via Big Government … A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Demonizing Private Insurance Companies; (Read WP posts from William Teach) | (Read MT posts from William Teach) | rss… http://rightwingnews.com/2009/10/a-funny-thing-happened-on-the-way-to-demonizing-private-insurance-companies/ [...]
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[...] 11.A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Demonizing Private Insurance A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Demonizing Private Insurance Companies; (Read WP posts from William Teach) | (Read MT posts from William Teach) | rss … Went on a waiting list for a family physician the day I arrived, when I moved I was still on that list. My experience is not anecdotal; any Canadian that relocates… [...]

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