301–310 of 540 posts
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And yet, it was groundbreaking when it was signed into law. People received refund checks after it went into effect.
And immediately after, administration costs shot up to ooh, 15-20%...
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Ditched my BlueShield PPO for Kaiser and costs went down dramatically. There's tons of costs to be saved in healthcare and glad to see the private sector making an effort.
I tried applying to Kaiser and they rejected me for having a pre-existing condition which couldn't be helped given that I was born with it. Good for everyone else, I guess. :/ I ended up moving back home where the government covers my treatments.
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This is something I've been thinking about for a while - what would insurance companies (and even other companies in every vertical) look like with some incentive other than profit? Paying good salaries is one thing, but doing it for the sake of external shareholders is a different case. Newman's Own is one interesting (and successful) example I can think of that's an otherwise for-profit company acting effectively a…
From ehealthinsurance.com: Kaiser Permanente is composed of Kaiser Foundation Health Plans (nonprofit, public-benefit corporations), Kaiser Foundation Hospitals (a nonprofit, public-benefit corporation), and the Permanente Medical Groups (for-profit professional organizations). Our family have been members for over 20 years. I'd rate their health care as "good", but the real benefit is that we have NEVER had a billin…
As some other people have mentioned below, the much lauded[1] vertically integrated health provider Kaiser Permanente started this way, as the health provider caring for the workers of an enlightened large employer, Kaiser Steel, which at the time was a massive shipbuilder for the Navy and others headquartered in California with a major presence in the SF Bay Area. I was briefly covered by a Kaiser plan, and have a l…
Below is the spend by the major groups from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4638261/ All individuals with chronic conditions and functional limitations - $909 billion Individuals aged ≥ 65 y with chronic conditions and functional limitations - $543 billion Individuals at the end of life - $205 billion. I am not sure you can save any healthcare costs unless 1. People change their eating and lifestyle habi…
Also, about 10-15% of the $3 trillion is administrative waste (payers). There are a lot of areas that we can save.
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You’re right, but respectfully, in the long term, “I want this specific provider at any cost” is somewhat of an edge case. A lot of (most?) people just want good healthcare and a low cost. That’s a complex but solveable problem.
No, its not an edge case. If you have a rapport with a doctor/care provider, you would want to stay with them. I have a genetic disease and an endocrinologist who helps me manage it. I wouldn't want to leave that doctor, who has seen me multiple times, has my charts, understands what Im working with, and so much more.
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Given that Buffett pledged to donate 90% of his wealth to charities, I'm not sure you can characterize him as "mainly interested in lining his own pocket."
To me he is a character like Gates, Rockefeller or Carnegie. Ruthless, ever greedy businesspeople who get as much as they can out of business at any cost. Then they give a big part of it away. The question is whether the health care thing is part of the making money activities or part of the giving away activities. You can always hope for the best so let's see what happens. Looking at the American health system I am…
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All involved players are mainly interested in lining their own pockets. The question if this will come at the expense of patients or other players in health care.
Given that Buffett pledged to donate 90% of his wealth to charities, I'm not sure you can characterize him as "mainly interested in lining his own pocket."
Hopefully this deal creates a ripple effect non-employees of these three companies can benefit from.
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That is because providers can't refuse healthcare to someone that needs it and can't afford it, so those costs get inflated just to be able to get a fraction of it. As rsync says, it's still not insurance, it's just the ability to be part of a group large enough to negotiate pricing, and has enough credibility for providers to trust them to be able to pay.
AFAIK that only applies to hospital emergency rooms. Your local doctor certainly can refuse service if you can't pay the bill.