Health Care goes through (News Desk version)

goof2 · 03-22-2010, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pauldun170

They need a version 2.0 ASAP.
Too many asshole chugged it up with nonsense and the BS the GOP pulled screwed over republican ideas.

Personally,
I would have rather seen:
- Single Payer Gov't option
- Gov't subsidies on medical schools\tuition. (I can understand why AMA would be hesitant against this because in the long run it would drive down compensation - if Med school is cheaper and more candidates enter the job market).

Gov't option provides baseline level of protection and then private industry can fill in with upmarket or niche products. I would then reduce regulation of private insurers.
If they want to drop you because you are high risk then so be it.

Malpractice award limits are a whole other can beans and peronally I'm unsypathetic to the rhetoric after seeing some of the info I have seen.

Freeing up insurers to go across state lines would end up disasterous. you'd would then see the formation of behemoths as small insurers get gobbled up and competition would disappear.

Version 2.0 isn't coming. All you need to do is look at the way the Democrats and the media are celebrating this supposed great victory. Actually trying to find and fix the problems in the system appears to be too much work. Instead they presented this half assed measure more than 12% of Democrats in the House wouldn't vote for.

As for "the formation of behemoths" and disappearance of competition, the UnitedHealth Group (claim 70 million directly and indirectly), Blue Cross Blue Shield/Wellpoint (claim 100 million directly and indirectly), and Aetna (17 million medical/13 million group) insure at least in part somewhere around 200 million people. That is 2/3rds of Americans getting part of their health insurance through one of these 3 companies. When you factor in the claim that 45 million are currently uninsured it gets closer to 80% of insured Americans getting part of their health insurance through one of these three companies. Your concern is a little late.