Easier, cheaper ways to provide competition in health care
The reasoning put forth by those favoring a public health insurance option is that it would provide competition lacking in the present system. Even though present profit margins for insurance companies is only in the 3% to 6% range, more competition seems like a good idea. But instead of another large, bureaucratic, politically influenced government program, susceptible to the same sort of waste, graft, fraud and corruption as in medicare, why not simply allow insurance companies to compete on a nationwide basis across state lines. This one action alone would provide more competition without any cost to taxpayers.
The argument for government providing more competition in health insurance simply means more taxes to cover a lower premium cost, which would eventually force private insurance out of business, leaving public insurance with no competitors.
If government involvement in insurance is such a great idea, then how about government run grocery stores, department stores, even car companies (oops, we already are getting there). Wouldn’t that also provide the same sort of additional competition? Isn’t that socialism?
As far as covering all citizens that can not afford health insurance, there are several plans proposed for doing so that were not allowed to see the light of day in congress. But none would require a1,300 page bill. And neither would the requirement to cover preexisting conditions or eliminate caps on coverage. All that this utopia would require would be more money. Not to worry; just borrow more from China and raise taxes.
David E. Duke
Chesterfield
Double D, I’m sure when you wrote this letter, put it to the side for a few moments, re-read it, and thought about it, you saw how easy it is to poke holes into all your arguments. Oh, you didn’t…
Cars/department stores - not a necessity. No one is going to die wihout a car. Foks aren’t going to die without latest fashions available at Dillard’s. These are luxeries, not necessities.
Grocery Store - never been denied entry into a grocery store because of a pre-existing condition. Never had to pay for milk then the person next to me because of genetic predispostions. Overall, year over year increase in the cost of food is negligible compared to double diget increases in the cost of insurance every year. Milk is $2.50 a gallon, maybe next year it will be bumped up to $2.57. The 3% raise my company gives out is fine, but my responsibility for covering the cost of healthcare went up 5%. There goes that raise…and I even lost money on the deal.
Wear was all this outrage of yours when President bush was borrowing from china? The deficit under Bush was the largest of its times. The deficit under Obama is mere perecentages over what was left over from Bush.
I don’t know about you, but I have gotten a tax cut under Obama. The money taken out of my paycheck by the fed. government was greatly reduced due to a tax cut that a majority of Americans got. Where is this “raise taxes” argument coming from?
Tim H: Your letter clearly shows you to be borderline illiterate, so I will go slowly. Your comment about Obama’s deficit being a percentage of Bush’s is technically correct, I guess. However, that percentage is 328%. I will wager that everyone who posts on the right on this site can document more outrage about Bush’s spending than you or anyone else on the left can. The only spending the libs ever are against is protecting the country. They danced merrily along as Bush borrowed from China and spent, especially after gaining control of congress in January of 2007. The undertone of your letter is obvious, you want someone else to pay for your health care. Just who would that be?
“Isn’t that socialism?”
–Dictionary.com definition of socialism:
so⋅cial⋅ism –noun
1) a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.
2) (in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles.
–Definition of fascism:
fas·cism (fāsh’ĭz’əm)…A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.
———
–More like fascism.
Lisa,
I brought this forward in the LTE posts so that you might see it. Try http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/ . If that doesn’t get you there just google pbs.con look for Frontline Prgrams and watch “Sick Around the World” online.
David Duke, As you might imagine I do not pick on anybody due to their name. But you really have a cross to bear with yours. The “other David Duke” made it tough on you, I’m sure. Be thankful your name isn’t Charles Manson.
David,
I forgot to add that you will enjoy watching the Frontline program, “Sick Around the world”. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/ With your interest in encouraging competition in the insurance industry you will be amazed at how they did it!
Obama is that insane Fascist leader voted in by a majority of Americans. Obama has ordered the FCC to take Rush and Fox Entertainment off the air because that would be censorship. Obama is racist according to Fox Entertainment and Rush, so he must be a Fascist since their world is golden truth. Government optioned health care is a real stringent socioeconomic control. Terror is performed best by the great GOP and Fox Entertainment, not Obama.
Honestly, when were we ever a truly Capitalistic country? When we allowed 8 year olds to work in factories instead of getting an education? When we had slaves? What is true Capitalism and where did we deviate?
Lunar,
I tried several times to watch Sick Around the World. I have been able to watch part one, about the UK, but that’s it. Twelve minutes.
I wish you would have answered my questions in the other thread.
David Duke: The argument for government providing more competition in health insurance simply means more taxes to cover a lower premium cost, which would eventually force private insurance out of business, leaving public insurance with no competitors.
Too bad you didn’t do some research. The Public Option is not allowed to use taxes to lower premium costs. The Public Option must be self-sufficient based on premiums … just like Private Insurance.
Both the Public Option and Private Insurance Plans will have beneficiaries receiving subsidies — no difference between the two there, either.
If the Public Option is removed from the bill, the cost of the bill will not go down by one penny.
“The deficit under Bush was the largest of its times. The deficit under Obama is mere perecentages over what was left over from Bush.”–T.H.
–The deficit for October alone is greater than the deficit for the entire year of 2007, under GWB.
–The federal government kicked off fiscal year 2010 by posting its widest-ever October budget deficit, the Treasury Department reported Thursday. The $176.36 billion gap is more than $20 billion wider than the shortfall recorded in October 2008, driven up by lower tax receipts, stimulus-related revenue reductions and consistently high government outlays. The October deficit figure is wider than the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate for a $175 billion deficit in the month and wider than the $165.9 billion expected by analysts.*
–Obama tripled the national deficit his first year in office and he’s off to a record-setting start in fiscal year 2010.
–Despite the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hurricane Katrina, the recession he inherited, and the 9-11 attacks, President Bush brought down the national budget deficit from 412 billion dollars in 2004 to 162 billion dollars in 2007.*
*Figures taken from WSJ.
Lisa,
“Too bad you didn’t do some research. The Public Option is not allowed to use taxes to lower premium costs. The Public Option must be self-sufficient based on premiums … just like Private Insurance.”
And too bad your study of economics seems to be limited to the Rawl’s theory. Under the house plan taxes will be raised, a fact. Taxes will be used to provide more subsidies, another fact. The bill requires a 10% increase in taxes (Bush tax cut repeal factored in) from high wage earners and anticipated tax revenue, from the mandate to purchase, to fund the bill. The subsidies provided to people will indeed go right back to the underpriced PO, thereby driving the private industry out of business. On another note, in another thread, you mentioned that the military should increase pay to cover insurance instead of providing it. Well, they sort of do. Our base pay is structured low because health care is factored in as part of the whole pay and allowance package.