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I'm sorry. I think their are fixes, but the average American doesn't seem to want change. All these big corporations need to do is throw some money at adverti

I'm sorry. I think their are fixes, but the average American doesn't seem to want change. All these big corporations need to do is throw some money at advertisers, create a little scare--almost always just a scare tactic. Like there will be Death Squads, or we will have to wait six months for a MRI, and the people just cave in, and say no to any changes. Again, I'm sorry about your wife.

EliRivers 11y ago
Oh yes, the "death panels" nonsense. I remember that bullshit. These insurance companies already are death panels, by design. They have a big pile of money and they get to keep every penny they don't spend on someone's healthcare. Of course they're a fucking death panel. Their business model is letting the most people die without it becoming so obvious that people stop giving them money.
- maxerickson 11y ago
  There is now the 80/20 rule: https://www.healthcare.gov/health-care-law-protections/rate-review/ https://www.healthcare.gov/health-care-law-protections/rate-... They have to spend 80% of premiums or give money back. This is supposedly a cost control, but it isn't clear to me that it provides the right incentives (the easiest way for an insurance company that hits the rule to increase their profits is to raise premiums...).
  - MrTonyD 11y ago
    Having worked for Fortune 50's for most of my life, I'm not optimistic about that law. There are so many ways to adjust accounting that it is just amazing. And every company uses many offshores these days - they provide services and costs to get profits offshore. And they provide "services" that can be classified in any way they want. Really, that law sounds like just another deception for the masses who don't really understand how the system works for the rich.
    - EliRivers 11y ago
      On a related tangent, I am reminded that the extraordinarily successful Harry Potter series of movies made a loss on paper. As you suggest, these people laugh in the face of the law.

EliRivers 11y ago

Oh yes, the "death panels" nonsense. I remember that bullshit. These insurance companies already are death panels, by design. They have a big pile of money and they get to keep every penny they don't spend on someone's healthcare. Of course they're a fucking death panel. Their business model is letting the most people die without it becoming so obvious that people stop giving them money.

maxerickson 11y ago
There is now the 80/20 rule: https://www.healthcare.gov/health-care-law-protections/rate-review/ https://www.healthcare.gov/health-care-law-protections/rate-... They have to spend 80% of premiums or give money back. This is supposedly a cost control, but it isn't clear to me that it provides the right incentives (the easiest way for an insurance company that hits the rule to increase their profits is to raise premiums...).
- MrTonyD 11y ago
  Having worked for Fortune 50's for most of my life, I'm not optimistic about that law. There are so many ways to adjust accounting that it is just amazing. And every company uses many offshores these days - they provide services and costs to get profits offshore. And they provide "services" that can be classified in any way they want. Really, that law sounds like just another deception for the masses who don't really understand how the system works for the rich.
  - EliRivers 11y ago
    On a related tangent, I am reminded that the extraordinarily successful Harry Potter series of movies made a loss on paper. As you suggest, these people laugh in the face of the law.