THS- read my post that Lurking Tiger quoted above. This could have been done much simpler without the govt control piece. All Obama does is prance around using the popular points from this bill to brag to his sheeple constituency - he fails to leave out the govt takeover part in his teleprompter talking points. Some people are so naive not to see through it. I'm like Sani - I think this is gonna get nasty before its over in the form of succession talks. Fine by me.
Quick comments...
1. Eliminate Pre-existing clauses
I don't completely agree with this, although I can see some limits on pre-existing conditions. Looking towards a more capitalist-friendly solution, if you simply eliminated an insurance company's right to refuse certain customers, you'd end up putting the best insurance companies out of business. Those with pre-existing conditions would do what we all do and seek out the best providers. If the best providers were inundated with these customers, you'd be severely handicapping their ability to stay afloat. Just something to consider...
2. Eliminate cross state prevention clauses
Not sure if I'm following you exactly... Are you referencing the government's regulations preventing companies from operating across state lines. Again, more government regulations just created additional problems. Take these constraints out of the mix, and we'd literally have hundreds of potential providers to choose from... More competition would be GREAT in the payer industry.
3. Work to try to bring down the COST of the actual HC....which leads to
4. Tort reform. Put Ken Nugent and the rest of the ambulance chasing attorneys in their place. Dr's cant even afford to stay in business because of the cost of malpractice insurance. This is indeed the ROOT cause.
Start with tort reform... Institute loser pays (for all court costs and attorney's fees)... Then, we can move on to the pharmas...
And lastly if needed - Insurance companies' business structures could be formed much like that of a charity or non-profit. Thus making profit NOT the main objective, but the actual healthcare.
Not a chance... I'm currently working at a non-profit insurance company, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. I've never seen such mediocrity and inefficiency. Their IT department is probably 3 times the size of that of a similar sized for-profit company, and their productivity is less than 50% of what it should be. Their people are tremendously under-qualified and hopelessly apathetic. They're just like the gubm'et. Once you get a job there, it will take an act-of-God to get you out of there. They purposely sell products that they know are losers, but they don't care because the federal and state governments will always bail them out for their Medicare Advantage products. For-profit with moderate regulation is the only way to go here.