tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post3401068485873367078..comments2024-01-03T05:23:36.046-08:00Comments on The Citizens: Private Health InsuranceUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-13285991649076350732013-05-26T01:53:11.042-07:002013-05-26T01:53:11.042-07:00Normally I don't learn article on blogs, howev...Normally I don't learn article on blogs, however I would like to say that this write-up very compelled me to check out and do it! Your writing style has been surprised me. 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He tells the tale of a young boy, a tot, who was riding a toy car near the railroad crossing.<br />The facility of websites and online news are also getting lot of appreciation because <br />it is very time saving and people can read it in between their work.<br /><br /><br /><br />Here is my site - <a href="http://rape.policywiki.in/LucafwElamia" rel="nofollow">Latest Daily News</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-357765088237621642013-03-14T17:40:07.143-07:002013-03-14T17:40:07.143-07:00http://www.cafb29b24.org/docs/buyativan/#drug righ...http://www.cafb29b24.org/docs/buyativan/#drug right dosage ativan - buy ativan no prescriptionAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-70564449272242332432009-08-02T19:27:03.633-07:002009-08-02T19:27:03.633-07:00I'm not sure how inefficient it is to use the ...I'm not sure how inefficient it is to use the tort system for regulatory enforcement. Sure, it seems indirect and odd, but let's ask what the societal cost is of using the tort system in this way compared to its benefits? I mean, yes it's a poor way of compensating individual plaintiffs, but fear of lawsuits seems to motivate improved corporate behavior more than anything else I can think of. Other than maintaining a judiciary, which is both really cheap and has lots of other uses, this sort of regulatory system is free to the taxpayer. And it is also remarkably resistant to political change because whatever you can say about politicization of the courts, they are the least political branch of government, or at least the least partisan.<br /><br />I think our tort enforcement system has worked well for issues of product safety and okay for issues of workplace rule enforcement in white-collar businesses (OSHA, by contrast, is expensive and works poorly).The Law Talking Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17886791396468512490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-36954750005479835872009-07-29T14:30:58.054-07:002009-07-29T14:30:58.054-07:00"It does boggle the mind that we rely on priv..."It does boggle the mind that we rely on private liability insurance and lawyers (with their massively inefficient contingent fees) for situations of wrongful death."<br /><br />Actually, we've essentially used the tort system to privatize the regulatory system. Whereas most countries would use government enforcement to punish companies for polluting whole towns or using dangerous production processes that injure workers, we use law suits. <br /><br />Not very efficient at all.Raised By Republicanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03461006522141969925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-52758178115375149642009-07-28T16:47:42.016-07:002009-07-28T16:47:42.016-07:00To follow up, RBR, you are absolutely right. Almo...To follow up, RBR, you are absolutely right. Almost all "liability insurance" is about the cost of medical care or payment for wrongful death. The former should be taken care of by a single-payer health insurance system. The latter could be taken care of by general social insurance such as they have in New Zealand. It does boggle the mind that we rely on private liability insurance and lawyers (with their massively inefficient contingent fees) for situations of wrongful death. <br /><br />Note that we took care of a lot of this for employees with a "worker's compensation" system.The Law Talking Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17886791396468512490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-47081556068514779162009-07-28T16:42:29.730-07:002009-07-28T16:42:29.730-07:00You need only look around every major city in Amer...You need only look around every major city in America and see all the skyscrapers with insurance company names on them to figure out how much profit they make. <br /><br />It's just not a very competitive market out there for most kinds of insurance. <br /><br />What is most irksome is that you are not really insuring against anything other than your own illiquidity.The Law Talking Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17886791396468512490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-1442759290653433912009-07-28T04:53:23.361-07:002009-07-28T04:53:23.361-07:00To be fair, it was LTG's suggestion not mine.To be fair, it was LTG's suggestion not mine.Raised By Republicanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03461006522141969925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-46970603955088615472009-07-27T17:52:07.253-07:002009-07-27T17:52:07.253-07:00Looking at RbR's suggestion that auto insuranc...Looking at RbR's suggestion that auto insurance would go down if you didn't have to have a component for other peoples' health, I've just found <a href="http://www.copenhagenize.com/2009/07/driving-kills-health-warnings.html" rel="nofollow">this article</a> on a cycling blog I read, which I think links in here nicely - continuing thinking along the lines of the article, I come to the conclusion that your personal healthcare costs should be reduced if you don't have an automobile...Pombatnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-29843258446944828212009-07-27T04:06:08.245-07:002009-07-27T04:06:08.245-07:00True, Dr. S. Profit margins are awfully high. In...True, Dr. S. Profit margins are awfully high. In a fully competitive market, profits should be approaching zero. <br /><br />It's not like "competition" in the cable TV services - each company gets a regional monopoly. But I do think there must be something fishy going on. Some sort of cartel behavior.Raised By Republicanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03461006522141969925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-44531650814434752562009-07-26T18:24:21.549-07:002009-07-26T18:24:21.549-07:00It is interesting to consider how, in a supposedly...It is interesting to consider how, in a supposedly competitive marketplace, profit margins on insurance policies can remain so high. Usually one looks for barriers to market entry--and there is a fair amount of overhead (staff, office branches, etc.)--but I think the profit margin is just too big to explain away like that.<br /><br />The ability segment the market must have something to with it, I figure. Somehow the market is not functioning as we believe it ought to.Dr. Strangelovehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14407042105777411150noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-23297825149647595112009-07-26T04:49:56.395-07:002009-07-26T04:49:56.395-07:00Pombat, the way my insurance policy is set up, it ...Pombat, the way my insurance policy is set up, it is a la carte so I could selectively reduce or eliminate certain aspects of coverage. <br /><br />Also, with auto and home owner's insurance there is a genuine market - unlike health insurance. So I could chose a different company on my own without any input from my employer.Raised By Republicanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03461006522141969925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-74423804792887786562009-07-25T17:21:44.313-07:002009-07-25T17:21:44.313-07:00RbR: nice thought that the cost to you personally ...RbR: nice thought that the cost to you personally would go down - I'm reckoning that your auto, house, and everything else insurance would remain just as expensive for *you* as now, and the difference in cost would magically turn itself into company profits. But I could just be being cynical - I mean, it's not like the executives at the top of these companies are bad, or at all greedy, people, now is it?...Pombatnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-63591817160125986042009-07-25T05:23:43.519-07:002009-07-25T05:23:43.519-07:00Interesting LTG. I hadn't thought about the e...Interesting LTG. I hadn't thought about the effect a single payer health care plan would have on my auto-insurance. I also carry a certain amount of homeowners' insurance designed to cover injuries to people other than me on my property. That would go down too. <br /><br />I imagine it would have a similar but not as dramatic effect on malpractice insurance. Once you start looking for hidden costs imposed by private payment for health care you find it everywhere!Raised By Republicanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03461006522141969925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-15979326951385353982009-07-25T02:06:26.533-07:002009-07-25T02:06:26.533-07:00There are plenty of places in every country in the...There are plenty of places in every country in the world where having a car makes your life easier. That does not make it a fundamental human right - there is always the option of moving house to somewhere that you don't need a car to make your life easier. And yes, moving house may be tricky etc, but it is possible (alternatively you can pretend to be from a non-first world country and suck it up). Having access to decent health care that will, for example, be able to treat your child so that they do not die from diarrhoea related dehydration, is a right as far as I am concerned. It is <b>totally</b> different.<br /><br />I agree that car insurance costs would probably be lower in places where those costs do not have to cover someone else's health care. I have no idea what car insurance rates are like in the US, nor in Australia for that matter, but in the UK they can be as little as a few hundred a year for a small car such as a Fiesta. And you can choose anything from third party (just the other people's costs get covered), right through to fully comprehensive (all your costs get covered, whether in an accident, or a theft situation); it's illegal to drive with no insurance. In Aus, your car 'rego' includes third party insurance, and it's illegal to drive without a rego label.<br /><br />RbR: regardless of the fact that you got things 'fixed', that's still a horrible horrible situation. What the Republicans seem to be refusing to admit is that the difference between private and public health care (in the context of the US), appears to be thus: public, you would have a bureaucrat 'between' you and your doctor, which in practice would mean some invisible paper-shuffler somewhere leaving you to get on with things; private you have several profit-motivated 'bureaucrats' between you and your doctor, trying their damnedest to stop you getting any care that may cost them money. It seems totally different to private care in UK/Aus - there it's set up to be very customer focussed, I guess because we have the public option to keep them honest, or at least helpful...Pombatnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-15317530353900452512009-07-24T15:17:32.917-07:002009-07-24T15:17:32.917-07:00I don't want to get into a big fight about whe...I don't want to get into a big fight about whether driving a car is a fundamental right. Let's just say that there are plenty of places in the USA (and Australia) which were designed and built around having an automobile. For residents of such places, the theoretical option to forego a car is actually an extreme burden. For most such people, it might as well be a right or requirement. <br /><br />I don't think that really makes health insurance and car insurance different. In fact, car insurance rates in CA may exceed health insurance rates.<br /><br />I would also note that car and health insurance rates sre connected: the main purpose of car insurance is to cover the health costs of people who don't have them covered under a no-fault health care system. If we made it a no-fault system where health care costs were not charged to the drivers, car insurance would be much, much cheaper.The Law Talking Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17886791396468512490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-483748059450527322009-07-24T05:11:03.521-07:002009-07-24T05:11:03.521-07:00I'm afraid I don't have much personal info...I'm afraid I don't have much personal info on Scandinavian health care. During the time I've spent there I was able to pick up that dental care is free for children and half of it is paid for for adults. I do know that Denmark has both public and private hospitals and doctors so I gather that is very similar to what Pombat described for the UK and Oz. <br /><br />Interesting about the waiting and choice issues. Here, I usually have to wait two months to get a regular check up with the hospital/clinic I go to. I go to that clinic because of its affiliation with my employer and the insurance company my employer uses (so my employer picked the doctors). That clinic has satellite locations where I can just drop in for more urgent things (like flu f.ex.). But there I probably won't see an M.D. but just a "nurse practitioner" which is a nurse with a certain amount of extra training enabling him or her to prescribe drugs.<br /><br />An anecdote about bureaucracy: My grandmother recently passed away. When she was in her final days she couldn't swallow (too weak and suffering from dementia). But she was in a lot of pain so my aunt (a physical therapist) tried to get the nurse and doctor at the nursing home to give her pain-killers in suppository form. The insurance company refused saying that the suppositories were only designated for certain ailments none of which she had. My aunt tried to explain that her mother couldn't swallow anymore to no avail. The costumer service people said that they could review the situation and after some days/weeks of processing give a more considered decision. Obviously, not much good for my grandmother would likely have been dead by then and was suffering pain all that time. It was only because my aunt (through her work) had met the VP of the insurance company in question that she was able to get the insurance company to review the situation more urgently. Fortunately, a few phone calls did the trick. But not every family is as well connected. My point in this little story is that the myth Republicans are really pushing now is that government run health care will insert a bureaucrat between you and your doctor. The implication is that there is not one there already.Raised By Republicanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03461006522141969925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-16053388110883997152009-07-23T18:55:19.101-07:002009-07-23T18:55:19.101-07:00ps I would like to see some info on the 'socia...ps I would like to see some info on the 'socialist' Scandinavian countries and their health care - that would be good. <br /><br />Incidentally, costs for UK healthcare: an average income earner would pay about 20-25% total taxes on their salary, which is income tax and 'national insurance' - NI is supposedly the bit that pays for health & state pensions. Having just googled to find the rates, courtesy of the UK Customs dept, it's either 5% or 11% depending on which category you are (can't figure that right now), and your employer pays 13% of your salary too. No-one pays anything on the first six grand or so of your salary though, because that's your tax free allowance. Average salary in the UK is in the low twenty thousands I believe.<br /><br />In Aus, you're looking at a 1.5% Medicare levy I think (i.e. tax, taken by payroll at the same time as income tax, just like NI in the UK), plus your private healthcare costs, which for Spotted H and I are about fifty bucks a month each I think. Maybe a bit more, could be as much as seventy (it's through Spotted H's work, so I'm not entirely sure - comes straight off his paycheque, and we're reassessing it soon - that's top cover, we're not sure we need it all).<br /><br />On that other note, car insurance is so very different from health care - if they could see past the profits, they'd know that. Car insurance is so that there's money to pay for any mess you make with your car, being allowed to drive a car is not a fundamental right nor requirement, therefore requiring you to purchase insurance to drive is fair. Health care is a right (I believe) - everyone should know that if anything ever happens to them (like being hit by a car!), they'll be cared for until they're healthy, regardless of their income or coverage. Yes, I'm fine with people getting 'better' care if they have more coverage/cash, but there should be a base level accessible to all.Pombatnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-24624139936965242982009-07-23T18:35:32.887-07:002009-07-23T18:35:32.887-07:00RbR's questions:
A - are there procedures tha...RbR's questions:<br /><br />A - are there procedures that you can't get in Aus/UK?<br /><br />Um, to be honest, I don't really know, as I've always been pretty healthy. My understanding was always that anything you <i>need</i>, you can get done. Elective surgery, such as cosmetic surgery etc, is a different matter, but anything that has an impact on your health, will get fixed for you. Of course, if there are a choice of techniques/drugs/whatever, you may not have immediate NHS/Medicare-funded access to the latest/most expensive/one you want because it's trendy, but you will have access to a proven remedy.<br />[there was a big fuss in the UK a couple of years back about an extremely expensive, yet not necessarily magic-cure, cancer drug not being available, or not available to all or something]<br /><br />B - typical wait time to see doctor?<br /><br />In both countries, you can see your doctor that day if you have some kind of emergency (like flu, suspected gastro, that kind of thing). For general/regular check-ups, you'd be really unlucky to have to wait a week.<br /><br />The waiting times are for seeing specialists/having surgery. The oft quoted one is that you have to wait for two years to have a hip replacement. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure of the truth of it, but it seems to be a simple equation of number of medicos specialising in something, vs number of patients needing that something. It varies by geographical location too - some areas just manage their healthcare better, and seem to have more of the right medicos. <br /><br />You get seen quicker in private practice as they can pay specialists more, and after a certain time in public practice, fighting bureaucracy and dealing with whoever turns up, some specialists understandably get fed up and decide to go and get paid more in the private sector, seeing fewer patients, in nicer surroundings. Can't blame them really, and at least they stay in medicine, rather than just quitting completely.<br /><br />So, yes, there are waiting lists for certain procedures, I have no real idea on exactly how long they are, but we certainly don't have people dropping like flies left right and centre due to a lack of care. I remember our elderly diabetic neighbour got an abcess on his leg, didn't tell anyone until it got so big he needed amputation (he had a health visitor who came to see him, but hid it from them, because he thought he'd have to leave the village & maybe go into care if he 'fessed up). As soon as it was noticed, he was straight into hospital, and sorted out within a couple of days.<br /><br />C - can you pick your local GP in the UK, or are they assigned to districts?<br /><br />Yes and no, mostly yes. Each surgery has its own catchment area/district/whatever, and each surgery has multiple doctors in it. If you live in a really really tiny place, your local surgery may have only one doctor, who is by default your doctor, and tough luck if you don't like them. You have to live in a VERY small and out of the way place though - we're talking unprounceable hamlets in the Highlands of Scotland or depths of Wales. Most places, you'll have at least one surgery, with a handful of docs. Bigger towns, there'll be multiple surgeries, with overlapping areas. So you choose your surgery if there's more than one, and you can then choose a doctor within that surgery. In practice, you usually get assigned to the first doctor you see when you first visit/register, but you can always change that by requesting to see another one, as you're allowed to see any doc in the surgery you choose once registered with that surgery, and of course you have a gender choice too (I prefer female doctors for certain checks for example, so usually just register with a female doc). The only exception to the choice being when your doc's having a holiday - in that case the choice is one of the other docs, a locum, or wait til your doc gets back.Pombatnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-19379177615913389012009-07-23T11:55:32.599-07:002009-07-23T11:55:32.599-07:00Yup, crickets. The right-wingers should be deeply...Yup, crickets. The right-wingers should be deeply upset about the auto insurance stuff, especially as the government forces them to buy it. But they are too busy selling said insurance :-)Dr. Strangelovehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14407042105777411150noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-76056716684438298392009-07-23T11:13:58.526-07:002009-07-23T11:13:58.526-07:00We get right wing lurkers who now and again pop in...We get right wing lurkers who now and again pop in and leave obnoxious little rants when we blog about race issues and stuff. But when we have a serious, detailed discussion about health care policy... crickets.Raised By Republicanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03461006522141969925noreply@blogger.com