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Iowa insurance market collapse could ground young entrepreneurs' dreams

desmoinesregister.com

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Re: Iowa insurance market collapse could ground young entrepreneurs' dreams

#21

Post by mikeash »

anovikov wrote: post #7
s73ver wrote: post #2

Basically, do we want to send the signal that entrepreneurship is for everyone, or just the rich and healthy?

Entrepreneurship is not for everyone. It is for people who take risks. And yes it takes being healthy, because it is a stress which even most absolutely healthy and young people can't endure. And preferably rich because it sucks being left at the mercy of investors.

What about people with a chronic but completely controllable condition?

Dismissing anyone with an illness from entrepreneurship because you think they can't handle the stress is ridiculous.

Re: Iowa insurance market collapse could ground young entrepreneurs' dreams

#22

Post by harryh »

It's worth noting that Iowa is in particular trouble because of a single patient that costs ~1M a month[1]. In a relatively small market you end up with an unstable situation when there are more than 1 insurers because none of them know if they will have to take on this very expensive patient in any given year.

1. https://www.balloon-juice.com/2017/04/21/catching-the-fallin...

Re: Iowa insurance market collapse could ground young entrepreneurs' dreams

#23

Post by toomuchtodo »

shard972 wrote: post #18
coldpie wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Single payer has been proposed many times and works well in the rest of the first world. Edit: Don't forget to vote every November.

What about drug R&D in those countries? For all the issues of the US healthcare system, one thing it has going for it is most of the new developments in medicine comes from the US.

Great for pharma stockholders, terrible for American citizens.

Let's stop subsidizing drug R&D for the world on the backs of US citizens who are being squeezed to death by Washington and a for profit healthcare system.

Re: Iowa insurance market collapse could ground young entrepreneurs' dreams

#24

Post by kaitai »

anovikov wrote: post #7
s73ver wrote: post #2

Basically, do we want to send the signal that entrepreneurship is for everyone, or just the rich and healthy?

Entrepreneurship is not for everyone. It is for people who take risks. And yes it takes being healthy, because it is a stress which even most absolutely healthy and young people can't endure. And preferably rich because it sucks being left at the mercy of investors.

This is not a full picture of entrepreneurship or small business ownership. Entrepreneurship, especially in "middle America", also encompasses starting your own hair salon chain with an innovative approach to curly hair, or trying to get your dog-washing device manufactured and into stores, or selling Ukrainian sausages and imported chocolates. Sure, on HN it's all about healthy and young people at the mercy of investors, but out in the world it's imperfectly healthy sometimes-old people who use savings and family and friends to get things going. Especially if we're talking about health insurance in Iowa.

Re: Iowa insurance market collapse could ground young entrepreneurs' dreams

#25

Post by yawz »

madengr wrote: post #3

That's probably the main factor preventing me from quitting and working for myself. Crazy high medical insurance for a family of 4. That and educational savings for kids. "Free" medical and college would cause a hell of a disruption that corporations would not like.

They would have to adapt. This would create a good evolutionary pressure, and as a result, bad policies wouldn't survive. Not a bad thing overall.

Re: Iowa insurance market collapse could ground young entrepreneurs' dreams

#26

Post by shard972 »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #23
shard972 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about drug R&D in those countries? For all the issues of the US healthcare system, one thing it has going for it is most of the new developments in medicine comes from the US.

Great for pharma stockholders, terrible for American citizens. Let's stop subsidizing drug R&D for the world on the backs of US citizens who are being squeezed to death by Washington and a for profit healthcare system.

That's a fair argument but I'm more interested in how much R&D happens under single payer systems.

Re: Iowa insurance market collapse could ground young entrepreneurs' dreams

#27

Post by brianwawok »

shard972 wrote: post #18
coldpie wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Single payer has been proposed many times and works well in the rest of the first world. Edit: Don't forget to vote every November.

What about drug R&D in those countries? For all the issues of the US healthcare system, one thing it has going for it is most of the new developments in medicine comes from the US.

Sure but why do i as a American consumer subsidize drug invention for England or India?

If the goverment wants to pay for R and D awesome. Dont put it on my bill to see the doctor.

Re: Iowa insurance market collapse could ground young entrepreneurs' dreams

#28

Post by Pulcinella »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #23
shard972 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about drug R&D in those countries? For all the issues of the US healthcare system, one thing it has going for it is most of the new developments in medicine comes from the US.

Great for pharma stockholders, terrible for American citizens. Let's stop subsidizing drug R&D for the world on the backs of US citizens who are being squeezed to death by Washington and a for profit healthcare system.

Hell, how much of the money is spent on marketing, not actual R&D? It seems like there is a lot of Hollywood accounting in pharma.

Re: Iowa insurance market collapse could ground young entrepreneurs' dreams

#29

Post by jballanc »

I always wonder why, in all the coverage about health care and insurance groups "pulling out" of the marketplace, no one seems to want to state the obvious:

* Insurers are not pulling out of the insurance market.

* Insurers are pulling out of selling to individuals.

* This is happening because selling to large groups (like entire companies) is easier/more profitable.

* It is easier to sell to larger groups because you have greater numbers across which to amortize risk.

* The largest group of Americans one could envision selling insurance to is...ALL Americans.

So, by pulling out of the unprofitable individual marketplace in order to focus on selling to larger groups, these insurance companies are practically shouting at us what anyone with half a head already knows: single payer is the only practical, efficient, and cost effective solution for universal coverage.

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