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Aetna CEO Threatened Obamacare Pullout If Feds Opposed Humana Merger

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Re: Aetna CEO Threatened Obamacare Pullout If Feds Opposed Humana Merger

#2
Can anyone succinctly explain the benefits of having a market for private health insurance companies, rather than a single provider of health insurance (government, aka "public option")? Can a capitalist case be made for their existence? Does the lack of a large private insurance market in countries with government-provided health insurance cause lots of inefficiencies and waste?

Re: Aetna CEO Threatened Obamacare Pullout If Feds Opposed Humana Merger

#5
post #2

Can anyone succinctly explain the benefits of having a market for private health insurance companies, rather than a single provider of health insurance (government, aka "public option")? Can a capitalist case be made for their existence? Does the lack of a large private insurance market in countries with government-provided health insurance cause lots of inefficiencies and waste?

The healthcare system in countries like France, Canada, Germany is much more efficient and provides better healthcare to most of it's citizens than the US healthcare system pre and post obamacare.

https://www.oecd.org/eco/growth/46508904.pdf

http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/press-releases/...

Re: Aetna CEO Threatened Obamacare Pullout If Feds Opposed Humana Merger

#7

And if the merger isn't blocked, what guarantee does Aetna make that they won't drop out of the exchanges anyway?

It does have the distinct smell of the broadband subsidies: "Give us money if you want us to roll out high-speed broadband."

"Thanks for the check. Oh, BTW, we decided high-speed broadband wasn't really working for us, so we nixed it."

Aetna deal goes through: "Shockingly, we're still losing money on exchanges, so we're not going to do that anymore. Thanks for letting that merger go through, though."

Re: Aetna CEO Threatened Obamacare Pullout If Feds Opposed Humana Merger

#8
post #2

Can anyone succinctly explain the benefits of having a market for private health insurance companies, rather than a single provider of health insurance (government, aka "public option")? Can a capitalist case be made for their existence? Does the lack of a large private insurance market in countries with government-provided health insurance cause lots of inefficiencies and waste?

different options with respect to coverage, for one

Re: Aetna CEO Threatened Obamacare Pullout If Feds Opposed Humana Merger

#9
post #2

Can anyone succinctly explain the benefits of having a market for private health insurance companies, rather than a single provider of health insurance (government, aka "public option")? Can a capitalist case be made for their existence? Does the lack of a large private insurance market in countries with government-provided health insurance cause lots of inefficiencies and waste?

There is no benefit. The benefit is for the legislatures who passed the law. There was no way that we'd get single payer here in the US because our Congress is very much in the pocket of the health care industry. As such, the markets were a compromise measure enacted by congress to make it easier for people to choose health care. Before Obamacare, it was sort of a black box where only HR people could figure out pricing structures and health care providers didn't really compete in any way with each other.

Obamacare did do some good things that needed to be done, but essentially, everything about it was a bandaid intended to kick this shitty system down the road to the next person who had to deal with it. But hey, at least health care companies can't just turn you down because you have Diabetes or are too fat anymore.

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