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Let me excerpt from an article (link below). "The Blues lobbied and convinced the states to treat them as nonprofit charity corporations rather than “for-profi
by javert 12y ago
Let me excerpt from an article (link below).
"The Blues lobbied and convinced the states to treat them as nonprofit charity corporations rather than “for-profit” insurance companies, on the grounds that they were organized by doctors and hospitals. The Blues also requested and received tax-exempt status from the federal government. In return for their nonprofit status, the Blues agreed to offer health insurance on the basis of “community rating,” which meant that every customer would pay the same premium, regardless of age, sex, health history, lifestyle choices, or regional demographics.11 (This was occasionally modified to reflect different premiums for age and location and was then called “modified community rating.”)"
As described in the article, the Blues then got legislation that made it so all companies had to bulk purchase healthcare for their employees from---you guessed it---the Blues.
Of course other companies have learned how to get in on the gravy train in the meantime.
So yeah, it's been (poorly) socialized medicine for decades and decades, and that was in fact the reason the Blues were granted special priviliges---in turn everyone got the same care, no matter what it cost, paid by their employer.
Of course it was imperfect in that (1) it only socializes medicine for the employed and their families (imagine that!) and (2) it's ruined American healthcare already.
[1] http://www.theobjectivestandard.com/issues/winter-2007/moral-vs-universal-health-care/ http://www.theobjectivestandard.com/issues/winter-2007/moral...
By the way, doctors always bill using Medicare coding standards. The reason I can't talk to a doctor about my general health is because there is no Medicare code for that so he can't bill for it. I haven't seen a general practitioner in years.
- makomk 12y agoSo you're arguing that medicine is socialised in the US because it's provided by privately owner and run charities? Really?
- javert 12y agoThe big insurance companies are legal monopolies that function by favorable lawmaking. They do the bidding of the government, and in return, the government does their bidding. It's effectively a patron-client relationship. So, the point is: they are essentially organs of the state. The large US telecoms are a similar example. So, yes, because the insurers are state organs that guarantee everyone pays an equally high price to to subsidize everyone else, it is socialized medicine. Of course, this system cannot afford to give Americans the healthcare they demand (just as people in, say, Germany cannot get unlimited plastic surgery on the public dime). Resources are always limited. Moreover, it's only socialized medicine for the employed and their families. So that's why they came up with Obamacare. Obamacare will not fix the corporate cronyism, it will instead limit resources further by squeezing doctors and patients. We already have a doctor shortage in the US, and doctors are leaving the profession. There _will_ be a major medical crisis in this country in the next few decades. I expect to be one of the fortunate ones who will be able to pay for private healthcare or, if that's basically outlawed, flee abroad. Obama's legacy will be to create two separate health systems, one for the rich that is OK (but possibly not even located in the US), and one for the poor that is worse than what existed before. Of course in the end this will be blamed not on Obmaa, but on capitalism---it will be claimed that the rich are exploiting the poor, and that the rich just need to stop being so selfish. Further socialism will ensue.