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People Lose Their Employer-Sponsored Insurance Constantly

peoplespolicyproject.org

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Re: People Lose Their Employer-Sponsored Insurance Constantly

#201

Post by conanbatt »

helen___keller wrote: post #37

The point of health insurance is to pay into a risk pool as a collective so that the small percentage of people who end up needing the largest percentage of health care, nobody dies or goes into monumental debt. This can be done via taxes but insurance is a private market solution which should in theory make it more efficient for the sake of maximizing profit. So then if it's supposedly more efficient, why do I waste…

> Etc cetera. There's no end to the nuisance. If I could choose to just pay more in taxes (hell I'll pay way more than my current premiums) and never deal with insurance again, I would do it in a heartbeat.

If you have a high deductible, you already chose to pay less. Revealed preferences and all that.

Re: People Lose Their Employer-Sponsored Insurance Constantly

#202

Post by conanbatt »

dd36 wrote: post #16
bluejekyll wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The Medicare for all that Bernie is proposing is a reaction to the inability of Congress to meaningfully fix the issue. Wouldn't expanding Medicare to all also require an act of Congress? Bernie will have the influence of the White House, which is important, but it doesn't change the fact that Congress is still the body that would need to fix this. I've always felt like the Affordable Care Act was a bandaid almost…

If Bernie wins running with it as his primary issue, it’s a lot easier to get Congress on board.

Its definitely a boon for the cause, but I would be surprised if it passed the senate.

OTOH I dont even get how it could be in the table to bankrupt an entire market without compensation. Can the state really just outlaw all private insurances?

Re: People Lose Their Employer-Sponsored Insurance Constantly

#203

Post by GabrielBen »

camelNotation wrote: post #51

Medicare-for-All is some sort of "far left" fantasy in the United States, but single-payer healthcare is center-right dogma in every other developed country. I have no idea why this is so hard for the American right to grasp: single-payer healthcare is a social program, but it's not the same as socialism. We aren't trying to steal the means of production from you in some sort of revolution, we just don't want people…

Doesn't really help that M4A is pushed by someone that calls himself a socialist and outspokenly disapproves of capitalism.

Re: People Lose Their Employer-Sponsored Insurance Constantly

#204

Post by smileysteve »

conanbatt wrote: post #196
helen___keller wrote: post #37

The point of health insurance is to pay into a risk pool as a collective so that the small percentage of people who end up needing the largest percentage of health care, nobody dies or goes into monumental debt. This can be done via taxes but insurance is a private market solution which should in theory make it more efficient for the sake of maximizing profit. So then if it's supposedly more efficient, why do I waste…

You can fund private insurance via taxes as well. That's not a limit to private market insurances. But I tell you one thing that really affects why insurance sucks: that you get sweet tax exemptions if you get it through an employer, and to be an insurance that works through an employer you need to overcome massive regulatory hurdles. Welcome to the world of regulatory capture.

I wonder if the increases in the gig economy (ride sharing, charging, food delivery) will lead to more people eligible to file these incomes as sole proprietorships, allowing them to deduct health insurance.

Re: People Lose Their Employer-Sponsored Insurance Constantly

#205

Post by helen___keller »

conanbatt wrote: post #201
helen___keller wrote: post #37

The point of health insurance is to pay into a risk pool as a collective so that the small percentage of people who end up needing the largest percentage of health care, nobody dies or goes into monumental debt. This can be done via taxes but insurance is a private market solution which should in theory make it more efficient for the sake of maximizing profit. So then if it's supposedly more efficient, why do I waste…

> Etc cetera. There's no end to the nuisance. If I could choose to just pay more in taxes (hell I'll pay way more than my current premiums) and never deal with insurance again, I would do it in a heartbeat. If you have a high deductible, you already chose to pay less. Revealed preferences and all that.

I'm not sure I follow your logic.

Re: People Lose Their Employer-Sponsored Insurance Constantly

#206

Post by intopieces »

maxsilver wrote: post #27
terryschiavo22 wrote: post #2

Yes, people do lose their insurance constantly when they switch jobs...and then immediately sign onto their new plan. Is the argument that switching insurance plans is stressful? What's stressful is remaining uncovered. Switching plans is hardly comparable to the transition to a Medicare-for-all program.

> and then immediately sign onto their new plan Nope. Employer-provided insurance plans often have blackout dates. If you quit your job on June 2, and start your new job on June 3, your new job's health insurance might not actually take effect for up to 30, 60, or even 90 days after your start date. To cover that gap period, you either have to switch to a new plan with your old employer (commonly called COBRA) at rid…

>This need is so common, that most insurance companies have special advertising just for it (like https://www.priorityhealth.com/individual-family-health-insu.... for example).

This doesn’t even cover pre-existing conditions. So, if you are on medication for high blood pressure, or have diabetes, or are just one of the 55 percent of Americans who take prescription drugs... you are out of luck.

That these plans are even legal is a monumental failure of the American system.

Re: People Lose Their Employer-Sponsored Insurance Constantly

#207

Post by Scoundreller »

kjdndisneinj wrote: post #191
Scoundreller wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s what an advanced directive is for. We just need to extend it beyond CPR/no CPR and heroic measures vs no heroic measures, etc. Kinda how like insurance companies negotiate prices for everything in advance of you showing up. Let users watch a series of videos and choose what kind of risk and benefit they tolerate/want and how much they’re willing to spend. It’s morbid, but we do such assessments constantly. Do…

So now not only do I have to spend several days on the phone each year with my insurance company, on top of figuring out which plan I want every new job, but I also need to watch a bunch of videos about kidney-replacement options for when I get in a car accident? And what heart attack care is available? And how many $1000 Ti screws they should put in my leg when I shatter it rock climbing? And somehow the collective…

You get some agent to do the heavy lifting in agreement with your parameters.

It’s a solution to the problem of “I continued to choose to live in an environment without health insurance, how do I handle the situation of not being in a position to negotiate?”

Re: People Lose Their Employer-Sponsored Insurance Constantly

#209

Post by craftinator »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #49
helen___keller wrote: post #37

The point of health insurance is to pay into a risk pool as a collective so that the small percentage of people who end up needing the largest percentage of health care, nobody dies or goes into monumental debt. This can be done via taxes but insurance is a private market solution which should in theory make it more efficient for the sake of maximizing profit. So then if it's supposedly more efficient, why do I waste…

Isn't it pretty cost-effective and efficient to keep you on the phone for three hours in the hopes that you just give up and don't undergo a medical procedure?

This is exactly what I was thinking during the whole read. It's what Comcast did in the early 2000s when they were scamming people by adding random charges. Just keep them sandbagged long enough to give up, and it's basically free income.

Re: People Lose Their Employer-Sponsored Insurance Constantly

#210

Post by munk-a »

Scoundreller wrote: post #207
kjdndisneinj wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So now not only do I have to spend several days on the phone each year with my insurance company, on top of figuring out which plan I want every new job, but I also need to watch a bunch of videos about kidney-replacement options for when I get in a car accident? And what heart attack care is available? And how many $1000 Ti screws they should put in my leg when I shatter it rock climbing? And somehow the collective…

You get some agent to do the heavy lifting in agreement with your parameters. It’s a solution to the problem of “I continued to choose to live in an environment without health insurance, how do I handle the situation of not being in a position to negotiate?”

The agent I choose it the government, which I am proposing becomes the common agent of all Americans and advocates for all of us - since the expertise to act as a rational agent in this setting is unavailable to most citizens.

This extreme libretarianism stuff is pure BS, health care services in an emergency cannot exist as a free market.

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