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> To believe this shows total ignorance of the history of the healthcare system in America. The whole thing is a crazy pile of hacks and accidents with 0 design

by jjav 4y ago

> To believe this shows total ignorance of the history of the healthcare system in America. The whole thing is a crazy pile of hacks and accidents with 0 design or intent. No. The health insurance companies spend a lot of effort and influence on lobbying to make sure they are there in the loop to cash in on every health care transaction. It's all very intentional.

rayiner 4y ago
What percentage of healthcare spending would you guess is health insurance company profits?
- Jensson 4y ago
  The number is around 3% of healthcare becomes health insurer profits. https://content.naic.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/2020-Annual-Health-Insurance-Industry-Analysis-Report.pdf https://content.naic.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/20...
  - mbg721 4y ago
    The more frightening thing is how many middlemen's costs are baked in. Of course insurers aren't sitting around twirling their moustaches, figuring out how to be incrementally more evil; but they are spending astronomical amounts on compliance and other side-things that aren't actually healthcare.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
ch4s3 4y ago
As someone else pointed out the insurance industry’s profits account for a grand total of 3% of expenditures. The majority of healthcare spending is through Medicare, Medicaid, and the VA. You can also see in the thread below how I explain the non insurance industry history of Medicare Part D. There are so many times in the history of American healthcare history that someone had an idea for a fix, sold it to their voters, wrote the law, got it passed, and then it flopped.
- jjav 4y ago
  > As someone else pointed out the insurance industry’s profits account for a grand total of 3% of expenditures. The insurance industry profit is not a meaningful number in this context. Profits are only what is left over after all expenses are deducted. These expenses include all the operating costs of the medical insurance industry (salaries of all employees, massive CEO bonuses, real estate costs and on and on and on). Every penny of those costs are unnecessary overhead. All those (hundreds of) thousands of administrators and CEOs getting bonuses are not providing any health care to anyone, only adding overhead to the system. They feed off the work of doctors, nurses and medical staff but don't provide any value. So the number to look at is the total gross revenue of all medical insurance companies. All that money could be saved by simply eliminating the insurance industry middleman and paying medical staff (those who actually directly contribute to providing health care) directly.

by jjav 4y ago

rayiner 4y ago

What percentage of healthcare spending would you guess is health insurance company profits?

Jensson 4y ago
The number is around 3% of healthcare becomes health insurer profits. https://content.naic.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/2020-Annual-Health-Insurance-Industry-Analysis-Report.pdf https://content.naic.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/20...
- mbg721 4y ago
  The more frightening thing is how many middlemen's costs are baked in. Of course insurers aren't sitting around twirling their moustaches, figuring out how to be incrementally more evil; but they are spending astronomical amounts on compliance and other side-things that aren't actually healthcare.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

ch4s3 4y ago

As someone else pointed out the insurance industry’s profits account for a grand total of 3% of expenditures. The majority of healthcare spending is through Medicare, Medicaid, and the VA. You can also see in the thread below how I explain the non insurance industry history of Medicare Part D. There are so many times in the history of American healthcare history that someone had an idea for a fix, sold it to their voters, wrote the law, got it passed, and then it flopped.

jjav 4y ago
> As someone else pointed out the insurance industry’s profits account for a grand total of 3% of expenditures. The insurance industry profit is not a meaningful number in this context. Profits are only what is left over after all expenses are deducted. These expenses include all the operating costs of the medical insurance industry (salaries of all employees, massive CEO bonuses, real estate costs and on and on and on). Every penny of those costs are unnecessary overhead. All those (hundreds of) thousands of administrators and CEOs getting bonuses are not providing any health care to anyone, only adding overhead to the system. They feed off the work of doctors, nurses and medical staff but don't provide any value. So the number to look at is the total gross revenue of all medical insurance companies. All that money could be saved by simply eliminating the insurance industry middleman and paying medical staff (those who actually directly contribute to providing health care) directly.