What about the free market?
by PRRussell on Sep.18, 2009, under ♥ My Personal Blog
Obama’s Healthcare Reform will mean the end of employer based healthcare plans. There will be nothing left but the govt insurance. Personally, I think there is an unhealthy relationship between employers and employees in regard to health insurance. Costs are so high that employees are now in a position where they have to get their health insurance from their employer. This puts undue stress on the companies themselves, as well. The employee can often become trapped in a job with “good benefits”. They’re unable to move on for fear of losing those benefits in today’s world by not finding another job that offers the same good benefits they currently have. It would be much better for employee and employer alike if health insurance was sold and bought like auto insurance is done. A persons health insurance plan could go with them if they decide to leave their current job in pursuit of something better for them and their family in regards to salary or wage earned. Costs have to come down though for this to be possible. The average American cannot afford healthcare without their employers help of paying a percentage of the monthly premiums. There are more than 1300 health insurance companies in this country. Can you imagine if all 1300 had to compete against each other? The health insurance industry has never faced capitalism at it’s best. The states put mandates on these companies. It’s as if there is a large fence built around each state. No insurance company in Texas is allowed to look over that fence into New Mexico and sell a policy to a New Mexican. No New Mexican is allowed to look over the fence into Texas and buy a plan from a company there. This has led to widespread monopolies through out the the health insurance industry. For example, Blue Cross Blue Shield holds 80% of all health insurance policies in the state of Alabama. They have no competition in that state so they have no incentive to try to curtail rising costs in any way they can. Monopolies destroy capitalism. So what happens if all those fences around all those states are knocked down? Now Blue Cross Blue Shield has 1299 health insurance companies they have to compete against in Alabama! Can you imagaine how much costs would drop? Now ask yourself how one health insurance company entering into the Alabama health care industry would help? That one company being Government Healthcare. Sure, Blue Cross Blue Shield has to drop prices. The government is not interested in profits or saving money. They pay the doctors and hospitals with our money. They have no incentive to keep costs down. If costs rise then they just increase taxes so they have more of our money to funnel to doctors and hospitals. BC/BS competing against 1299 other companies with all of them wanting to make a profit will build a robust industry. BC/BS having to compete with one Government Healthcare company would eventually have to close their doors. How can you compete with someone who can drop their prices b/c they have no desire to see a profit? You can’t. By the same token, as I have already stated, the government will have no incentive to keep costs down….. they’ll just increase their revenue. Their revenue is our money. It’s the fact that companies need to see a profit that costs are kept down and capitalism can work at it’s best. No need for profit=no need to keep costs down. Then you can ask yourself: What if I could buy health insurance like I do life insurance? What if I could buy a policy for a term of 20 years? In year 10 I develop cancer but wait…… I have a 20 year policy. No way the insurance company can drop me and I get treatment in full. Fast forward to year 20 and you now have to sign a new policy with your health insurance company and they say, “Well, you know…. you had cancer 10 years ago so we’ll have to charge you more for your premiums.” Okay….. charge me more…. but charge me too much and I’ll just go to a company that will sell it to me cheaper. Ahhh Haaaa……. well, you might have to pay a little more on the next term but it will be a reasonable increase because there are 1299 other companies you can go shopping at for a new plan. Obama says the government will keep health insurance companies honest. What does the mean????? He will keep them honest by making sure they don’t have fat paychecks and deny coverage? Okay… noble cause…… but tell me, Mr President, how can you do a better job at that then the free market…. then 1299 other competing companies that all want Joe American as their customer? Tell me… please.. because I do not understand.
Just my own thoughts and opinions but these are just a couple ideas that conservatives have offered in Congress and they have been shot down time and time again. Tear down the fences and let all the dogs play together…. I promise you that costs will drop.
Just in case you’re wondering…. I am not a health insurance company operative. I am not a GOP operative. I am an everyday American that is worried for her country. I, also, have 5 autoimmune diseases and require quite a bit of medical care. I have been on the receiving end of that pre-existing condition clause. My doctor had to perfom retinal surgery (victrectomy) pro bono so I wouldn’t go blind b/c my health insurance company had me missing my pre-existing condition exemption period by one day!! So… no…. I am not a lover of health insurance companies. I am a lover of capitalism though. I have seen the very worst and the very best in health insurance companies. I should be the last person anyone would expect would be fighting against Obama’s plan. I can tell you I trust capitalism to give me affordable heathcare a heck of alot more then the government. How much do I trust it? Well, it’s only my 39 year old life at stake so I’d say alot. As far as capitalism giving me excellent healthcare…. I don’t have to worry about that. We already have excellent healthcare in this country. Competing insurance companies won’t lower our level of excellence and that’s another thing my life depends on too.
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