Healthcare reform questions

[NDNatlGuardGF]

I'm putting this on here because I'm not trying to debate anything about this, just ask questions, so please play nice.

I was involved in the thread regarding domestic violence being a pre-exhisting condition that some women are being turned away from insurance companies for. During this debate many people have said that public/government insurance would solve this problem of it being a "business." My question is, How?

Healthcare will never be entirely non-profit so it will always be a business in some way. How can they possibly create a plan that will allow everyone to join at low costs? The example I posed was the 40+ year smoker who gets cheap insurance but then has his company paying out lots of $$ for his bad habit. How will this not eventually make that system backrupt?

I'm not opposed to making it possible for everyone to get health insurance at all, I just don't see how its not going to end up just like the private systems we have now or having tax payers pay out the butt for these things.

[HollyJay]

I need to move this to Elections and Politics, but it would be cool if we could respect the OPs intent for the thread and make it informative, rather than a massive blowup debate. Please post info! I'd love to see what people have at hand.

[guynavywife]

Government subsidies.
If the government provides health insurance at a loss, the government makes up the difference, either by raising everyone's rate, lowering reimbursement costs to doctors, raising taxes, charging employers, disallowing certain services, etc.
Its like medicade and medicare. There is no need to break even or make money.

[littlebird]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17bwRpCLshk

This explains the basic concept. It is from Humana, which is an insurance company, but it's accurate in its basic explanation.

[littlebird]

Originally Posted by NDNatlGuardGF I'm putting this on here because I'm not trying to debate anything about this, just ask questions, so please play nice. I was involved in the thread regarding domestic violence being a pre-exhisting condition that some women are being turned away from insurance companies for. During this debate many people have said that public/government insurance would solve this problem of it being a "business." My question is, How? Healthcare will never be entirely non-profit so it will always be a business in some way. How can they possibly create a plan that will allow everyone to join at low costs? The example I posed was the 40+ year smoker who gets cheap insurance but then has his company paying out lots of $$ for his bad habit. How will this not eventually make that system backrupt? I'm not opposed to making it possible for everyone to get health insurance at all, I just don't see how its not going to end up just like the private systems we have now or having tax payers pay out the butt for these things.

As far as the public option solving the "business" factor:

As is, health insurance companies deny people access to the "pool" of insured because they see them as a statistical risk to their bottom line. A public/government option wouldn't refuse people access to the pool, thus they put money in to help pay the costs of everyone's care.

[Viva]

Car insurance companies cover everyone at a reasonably affordable price. They make a profit doing so. Of course, its not the same INSANELY HIGH 35-40% profits that the insurance company makes...

The government already subsidizes care, also. They just do it when no one else will. They subsidize hospitals for emergency bills. They subsidize the elderly (the most high risk patients) They even subsidize medical bankruptcies by giving the companies tax breaks and stuff when they write off that debt. Always they wait until the level is CATASTROPHIC before they give the subsidy. In many cases, if they would pay the "upkeep" bills for checkups and preventative care, they wouldn't have to subsidize at the higher level (and the highest cost).

Incidentally, we also subsidize the cost of medications. The government gives grants and stuff in the BILLIONS to have drugs developed at universities and pays for trials, etc. Then they GIVE away the patent to the drug company who usually only pays about 25-50% of the development costs. If the government would keep the rights (or some of the rights) to those medications, then we could be making a profit off ALL the medication we sell to other Nations. And the medication would be cheaper, too.

It is not going to be non-profit. We blew the universal care out of the water. But we can engineer things to be more manageable for everyone involved and less expensive in the long run.

[guynavywife]

Oh. Don't forget that all insurance companies rely on investments in real estate and the stock market to make its main profits. Premiums are just an investment tool. By delaying payouts, the companies get to keep the money longer, earning money on your ailments.