IT'S TIME FOR UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE

@cicerone imposter,

cicerone imposter wrote:

Your company offers a dozen? Please list them for us. I've worked in management for several companies, and the options available numbered less than 3 or 4, but usually only one.

Well, I get these infos only via internet - but I couldn't find a single state state with twelve health insurance companies (nine seems to be the highest number).

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@Walter Hinteler,

Walter, It usually isn't a matter of how many insurance companies offers plans, but how many the company chooses to select through what's available in the state. Management usually looks at cost vs benefits, and selects the best they believe maximizes benefits for their employees at least cost. I'm not aware of any company that offers the max available in any state.

That's also very inefficient, because most workers do not have the time nor knowledge to select the best health plans. Insurance companies rate health insurance by the average age of its workers. Some companies may offer some sort of subsidy for workers to buy their own insurance, but again, that would not be for the best interest of the employees.

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@slkshock7,

slkshock7 wrote:

I have no idea...I know my company offers at least a dozen to choose from.

I doubt this is true. I've worked for several huge companies, and none of them ever had more than a couple to choose from.

You may be confusing different types of insurance...

Cycloptichorn

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Looks like the public option is doomed.

Quote:

Government health insurance option appears doomed (AP)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks with fellow lawmakers outside the West Wing of the White House after meeting with President Barack Obama in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010. Left is House Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., and right is House Education and Labor Chairman Rep. George Miller, D-Calif. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)AP - Senior House Democrats have largely abandoned hopes of including a government-run insurance option in the final compromise health care bill taking shape, according to several officials, and are pushing for other measures to rein in private insurers.

1 Reply

@cicerone imposter,

They have to remove the mandate then. I don't see how anyone can support this new insurance company bailout.

Remove the mandate.

1 Reply

@slkshock7,

That would be amazing if I had as many to choose from as you.

In 2007 I think there were 4.
In 2008 they got rid of my favorite, but left us with 3.
In 2009 they pared us down to 2.
And in 2010 there was only 1 insurance company to choose from, and only 2 different plans.

I suppose you could say that I still have choices by going to the private market; but cost inhibits me from making that choice.'

Thus, effectually, I'm left with only one choice, which as you know really isn't a choice at all.

I'm almost positive that more Americans are in my situation than are in yours. Or they have even worse options. I work for a company who made almost 2 billion in profit last year and employs over 25,000 people.

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@maporsche,

I never cared for any government mandates; they usually force something on organizations and people, but fail to pay for it. They try to hide the true cost through mandates, and bankrupt hospitals and schools.

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@maporsche,

Just to explain the difference to here, and why I asked: everyone here can choose between one out of more than 200 different health insurance companies offering service in the mandatory system; if you earn enough, are self-employed (or some other reasons) you can get privately insured - either by one of 200+ insurance companies from the mandatory sector or by one of the 40 others.

Within the mandatory system, the companies' offers are only slightly different (e.g., some don't pay acupuncture completely, others pay 150 hours/year physical training, and similar). Children and spouses without own income are insured without cost.

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@maporsche,

maporsche, et.al.

I guess I've been too long in the one I signed up for a decade ago. A little research on my part, reveals that you guys were largely right. Whereas the company does offer 13 different plans, many are geographically restricted.

Aetna (AZ, IL, Mid-Atlantic, NE, NJ, TX)
Anthem
BCBS (AL)
The Corporate Plan (Blue Cross/Blue Shield)
Harvard Pilgrim
Health Options
Horizon
Kaiser (CA, CO, Mid-Atlantic)
Kaiser (HI)
Optima
Pacificare
TRICARE
Aetna Global (Overseas)

I have four that I could choose from, but that's primarily because I live in the Metro-DC area. Most smaller corporate sites scattered across the country only have 2-3. However, everybody has at least two to choose from (Corporate plan plus another local plan)

1 Reply

@slkshock7,

Thanks for the update slkshock7.

The other problem that I see with the 'competition' in the health care industry is that many employees are only allowed to change their plan 1 time per year.

So, if my provider pisses me off and I want to go somewhere else, I have to wait up to a year before I can do so. It's not the same as most agencies where if I can chose to take my business elsewhere pretty easily.

2 Replies

@Walter Hinteler,

Walter,
My counting was obviously off for my own company so I hesitate to vouch for the accuracy of this virginina.gov source, but Virginia appears to have more than 20 companies legally able to offer health insurance in the state.

1 Reply

@maporsche,

And I don't believe that Obamacare does anything to fix that problem either. In fairness to the insurance companies though, permitting folks to jump on, pay one month's premium, get all their health-care problems/issues fixed and then quitting would hardly be conducive to financial success.

1 Reply

@slkshock7,

Just another government program with mass confusion inherent in it. 20 companies? Who has the time or inclination to study all 20 company's plans with different benefits and rates? That's not a benefit; it's only offering total confusion.

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@slkshock7,

I totally agree. Obamacare would only make this problem worse.

My only point was that healthcare cannot be treated like other free-market companies, since it operates completely different.

1 Reply

@maporsche,

I'm still not sure what the pros and cons are on Obamacare, but I'm a skeptic when it comes to a) saving cost, and b) achieving their goal of insuring over 31-million uninsured that will benefit companies and individuals.

Penalties for individuals or companies seems like a bad idea from the get-go. Also, I'm not sure they have corrected the problem of younger people not buying into the insurance while healthy, then buy insurance to take care of a very expensive illness, then opt out immediately thereafter. This problem exists in Massachusetts.

1 Reply

@cicerone imposter,

cicerone imposter wrote:

Just another government program with mass confusion inherent in it. 20 companies? Who has the time or inclination to study all 20 company's plans with different benefits and rates? That's not a benefit; it's only offering total confusion.

Really? We had more than 3,000 about 15 years ago (down to 200 now) in the mandatory system. (Most of them were only operating regionally - but those 200 today are working are working all over Germany now.)

And then, of course, the 40 insurance companies which only offer private health plans plus the .... (don't know the number) foreign insurers which offer health plans here.

I know quite a few people who change their health insurance company every year ...

1 Reply

@cicerone imposter,

ci wrote:

I'm still not sure what the pros and cons are on Obamacare, but I'm a skeptic when it comes to a) saving cost, and b) achieving their goal of insuring over 31-million uninsured that will benefit companies and individuals.

Whole-heartedly agree, CI...along with my concern about the lack of any type of tort-reform.

I would have greatly preferred they simply find a solution to insuring the 31 million uninsured and letting the rest of us continue as we are. Cost would have been far less and the risk of throwing the baby out with the bath water far less as well.

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@Walter Hinteler,

Yes, really. I don't know of many Americans who has the time nor inclination to study the insurance offerings of 200 insurance companies. Probably the biggest difference between Germany and the US.

1 Reply

@cicerone imposter,

Since last year, you pay for all those companies the same fee (but might get back - or pay - more with the one or other), hoever, the offer (slightly) different services.

In the private sector, those mentioned 40 companies may offer completely different services.

I mean, you don't look usually at just one or two car models of one or two car manufacturers when you want to buy a new car. And you don't look for the price at just one dealer.
And you don't buy the next car insurance either but compare ...

Health should be judged better in my opinion.

1 Reply

@Walter Hinteler,

Walter wrote:

Quote:

In the private sector, those mentioned 40 companies may offer completely different services.

How many Germans take the time to select from these 40 companies? Since there will not be a public option in the US, who has the time or inclination to study all the private plans to select from?

When you start to compare buying a car with health insurance, most people usually have a good idea which car maker or model they will look at based on their knowledge about cars; looking at 40 different insurance companies is a whole different issue.

1 Reply

IT'S TIME FOR UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE

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