Saturday, May 13, 2017

Obama Care Vs Insurance

Universal free health care, what makes it free? If you can afford to pay health insurance now, you know the free market cost of it. Imagine if you also had to cover the premiums of someone else who could not afford to pay for it? Add the fact that a government plan doesn’t have to be concerned with making a profit. This would destroy the free market concept of health insurance. You only need insurance to protect you and your family from an unexpected event.

People need to know the terms of what is being tossed around.

Insurance is a form of family financial protection, planning for the anticipation of a future event. The cost is determined by the likely hood of the event occurring among insured participants. You have many options that allow you to select a price you can live with.

Medicare is the federal health insurance program for people who are 65 or older, certain younger people with disabilities, and people with End-Stage Renal Disease (permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or a transplant, sometimes called ESRD).

Medicaid provides health coverage to millions of Americans, including eligible low-income adults, children, pregnant women, elderly adults and people with disabilities. Medicaid is administered by states, according to federal requirements. The program is funded jointly by states and the federal government. If you are bed ridden, very old, broke and need a rest home, this is where the money comes from

Obamacare is a health care plan that does not deal with insurance. It is a group plan that pays the cost of treatment for a group of people that may be very sick who have very little money to pay for health care maintenance that they need. The Government draws its finances from the group of people between the age of 18 and 65. Most people between the ages of 18 and 45 are never sick so, the premiums are nothing more than a tax. The group between the age of 45 and 65 are those that didn’t think they would ever need coverage, that is until something serious happed to them.

Notice one thing, without Obamacare, Insurance, Medicare and Medicaid covered all health care. There was one problem, the government ended up paying for those who couldn’t pay for their treatment. And who’s the government?--- you and me, we pick up the tab--our tax dollars.

With Obamacare, the net desire of the Congress was to double their tax base. A $4,500 health care charge for every working person in the US would not be considered an income tax, but rather an employee benefit surcharge like social security. You get to pay for your benefits in advance of using them. This could have raised between ½ trillion to about a trillion a year. This is what the Democrats are so mad about, the loss of a new tax source that never got fully operational.

You’ll notice that the Democrats blend Insurance, Medicare, Medicaid and Obamcare all in to one package when they talk about it. This is kind of like inserting an egg beater inside the average voter’s brain. A scrambled egg doesn’t have the symmetry of a poached egg plus the process is irreversible, the voter at that point cannot separate out the blended parts. Obamacare will destroy the insurance industry, because it eliminates the sharing of the risk, there is none. The government has no profit motive, and doesn't even have to worry about costs. An insurance company cannot compete against that sort of financial organization.

President Trump is not trying to get rid of Medicare, Medicaid or insurance. He wants to kill the government tax plan built around health care. Government has no business being in health care, they don’t have a bottom line to meet. Competency is not a job qualification. What we have to realize is that government is grossly inefficient. The private sector can always do a better job. The maddening thing is that Congress will take the money collected for health care and spend it on something else. Just like they did for Social Security.

Remember how you used to save for a vacation or a new car? Imagine $4,500 coming off the top of your paycheck every year. I remember being young and poor; health insurance wasn’t on the list, ahead of the wheels I could barely afford. It was about the age of 55 that I started seeing a doctor. Half of the people in this country have never been to a dentist; figure that one out. Your teeth will fail you way before age 50 without proper care.

I digress, but think about it. Real health insurance is not a government program. "Free health benefits" is story you tell your kids at night to get them to go to sleep.

5 comments:

Sackerson said...

Hi, Jim - I'd be interested to see you comment on this overview:

http://theylaughedatnoah.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/healthcare-usa-guide-to-obamacare.html

Jim in San Marcos said...

Hi Sack

I read it last week and was going to reply but didn’t. What the writer said wasn’t incorrect, but rather misleading.

“More people covered
Before: An estimated 31 million or more uninsured.
After: Over 20 million people with affordable insurance.”

Those 31 million uninsured are either part of the 120 million from the age of 18 to 55 who don’t feel the need to buy insurance or they can’t get covered because of existing conditions. Insurance costs don’t drop because of legislation.

“Insurers' profits capped
Before: Insurance companies kept up to 54% of all premiums.
After: Insurance companies restricted to 20% of premiums.”

Most health care insurers are making less than 8% on their investment. You could be right if you are talking about car insurance. The real question arises, as an insurance company, why invest money in the health care insurance industry when the return is dictated by the government? Other business investment usually offer about a 25% return. Nobody complains about Microsoft making a 95% profit.

“Fewer health-related bankruptcies
Before: Medical bills were the #1 reason for bankruptcy.
After: Medical bankruptcies down 90% or more.”

Fewer bankruptcy’s? I doubt it, the last two years of life are the most expensive. Dead people have no need to file for bankruptcy. The author cites medical bankruptcy’s down 90 percent, I see no supporting data, the government health care system isn’t even in place yet.

“Less misuse of emergency services
Before: People without coverage used Emergency Rooms for primary care, paid by increased hospital costs for everyone else. Hospitals are required by law to treat critical patients.
After: Much less pressure and cost for many of those hospitals. Better outcomes for those with chronic conditions.”

The average wait in an emergency room is about 8 hours. The author is quoting a future supposed benefit of the program.

“Extended coverage for dependent children
Before: Dependent children age 18+ not in college, or 22+ in college lost coverage on their parents' policies.
After: Coverage for dependent children up to age 26.”

Dependent coverage to age 26 is a benefit thought up by insurance companies. Sounds great but has almost no cost.

“Birth control
Before: Many policies did not cover any birth control, although most covered viagra.
After: All policies cover birth control.”

I know Obama care forces everyone to be covered for birth control which is kind of a joke if you are male or a woman over 50. Viagra coverage is new to me.

“Cover for pre-existing conditions
Before: People with pre-existing conditions, from arthritis to cancer and much more, could either be refused coverage for those conditions, refused any coverage, or made to pay for much higher risk and higher cost policies.
After: Pre-existing conditions covered with no penalty.”

Covering pre-existing conditions was written into the insurance laws, but insurance companies cannot pay for that aspect of coverage. It’s like buying fire insurance after the house burns down. This fact alone will destroy the health insurance industry. Why buy it before you need it.

Once the health care insurance industry is destroyed, the only alternative is the government plan which they want to make mandatory for everyone.

The real problem is that most of the government programs mix the insurance concept with government health care coverage. The consumer is led to believe that the insurance companies are ripping them off and the government will save them. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Most people from the age of 18 to 55 realize that they can’t afford health insurance and enjoy their present life style. There are many who need health care that can’t afford it. The concept of universal health care coverage, seems great because the cost is not really addressed except for the fact, if you can’t afford it, it will be provided to you free.

Jim in San Marcos said...


Continued from above

The average family will be taxed about 12 percent of their income for health care premiums. That fact has not yet become apparent to the wage earner.

Congress points a finger at the insurance industry and states “how dare you make a profit on our health insurance.” Isn’t making a profit what Democracy is all about? Notice with government health care, Congress will never have to raise income taxes, just your health care premium. Everyone gets re elected.

The real problem in our country is the medical monopoly. If I walk into a dentist office for a crown, and have no insurance, my cost is $600. With insurance, the cost is $1,200 with the insurance company picking up $600. A cat scan in this country is $12,000. Round trip air fare to Japan is $1,000 and the cat scan is $250.

Health care is a very complicated issue and Politicians do their best to mess it up to their advantage.

Brooke said...

I really appreciate Jim's comments above because he dropped some hardcore facts! Jim if you want I found some posts on The Great Depression that you'd be intrigued in, I can share them here for you: The Great Depression Essays

Jim in San Marcos said...

Hi Brooke

Thank you for the link. That's how I got hooked on the Great Depression, reading essays written at the time that have gathered much dust. "The Great Depression" by David A. Shannon is one of my favorites; it doesn't deal with the causes, only the effects on everyday people.

Thank you for the reading material

Take care