Like the rest of Washington Congressional Budget Office

[lustylad]

Originally Posted by grean

So instead of just making the government work more efficiently, we just accept being gouged by insurance companies?

You entire premise is wrong, greenie-teeny-wienie. Most of the insurance companies aren't gouging us - it's the fucking hospitals! They set the outrageously exorbitant charges, they send out the bills, and they're the ones who shamelessly exploit the fact that consumers are often not in a position to shop around in a heathcare emergency. Read Steven Brill's 2013 Time magazine article "Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us" if you truly want to educate yourself. Do you even know what a hospital "chargemaster" is?

The insurers just act as an intermediary. They price risk pools and pass along (in the form of higher premiums) the ridiculous charges submitted by the hospitals. Your anger is misplaced. You're barking up the wrong tree. The ones who are profiting from our sickness are the hospitals. Insurers are LOSING hundreds of millions on the obamacare exchanges - that's why they're pulling out! Most of the dimotard plans to "fix" obamacare would simply throw taxpayer dollars at the problem by bailing out insurer losses.

When insurance companies try to push back against obscene hospital charges and question the need for certain tests and procedures, the doctors throw an indignant hissy fit and complain about non-doctors questioning their professional opinions! Gotta pay for that new hospital wing! Gotta keep all that new state-of-the-art equipment humming by pushing through as many patients as possible!

And to the extent that the insurance companies succeed in negotiating more reasonable pricing with the hospitals, those same hospitals then turn around and try to compensate by gouging the uninsured! If you check into a hospital uninsured, your bill will often be double or triple what it would be with insurance! I don't know any other industry where producers are allowed to price-discriminate so brazenly against their consumers! So think about it - no matter how much the insurance companies try to fix the problem, their efforts are undercut by the greedy fucking hospitals! They're the real villains!

To make matters even murkier and more objectionable, in many areas hospital chains also offer their own health insurance and sign up (or "lock up") doctors who can only accept patients who have their in-house insurance. I don't know how they get away with this kind of flagrantly anti-competitive behavior.

[bambino]

Originally Posted by lustylad

You entire premise is wrong, greenie-teeny-wienie. Most of the insurance companies aren't gouging us - it's the fucking hospitals! They set the outrageously exorbitant charges, they send out the bills, and they're the ones who shamelessly exploit the fact that consumers are often not in a position to shop around in a heathcare emergency. Read Steven Brill's 2013 Time magazine article "Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us" if you truly want to educate yourself. Do you even know what a hospital "chargemaster" is?

The insurers just act as an intermediary. They price risk pools and pass along (in the form of higher premiums) the ridiculous charges submitted by the hospitals. Your anger is misplaced. You're barking up the wrong tree. The ones who are profiting from our sickness are the hospitals. Insurers are LOSING hundreds of millions on the obamacare exchanges - that's why they're pulling out! Most of the dimotard plans to "fix" obamacare would simply throw taxpayer dollars at the problem by bailing out insurer losses.

When insurance companies try to push back against obscene hospital charges and question the need for certain tests and procedures, the doctors throw an indignant hissy fit and complain about non-doctors questioning their professional opinions! Gotta pay for that new hospital wing! Gotta keep all that new state-of-the-art equipment humming by pushing through as many patients as possible!

And to the extent that the insurance companies succeed in negotiating more reasonable pricing with the hospitals, those same hospitals then turn around and try to compensate by gouging the uninsured! If you check into a hospital uninsured, your bill will often be double or triple what it would be with insurance! I don't know any other industry where producers are allowed to price-discriminate so brazenly against their consumers! So think about it - no matter how much the insurance companies try to fix the problem, their efforts are undercut by the greedy fucking hospitals! They're the real villains!

To make matters even murkier and more objectionable, in many areas hospital chains also offer their own health insurance and sign up (or "lock up") doctors who can only accept patients who have their in-house insurance. I don't know how they get away with this kind of flagrantly anti-competitive behavior.

Pittsburgh is a prime example of that. UPMC/Highmark

[lustylad]

Originally Posted by T_H_O_R

WTF: Is wrong with ACERTAIN COUNTRY. have people top level people commiting fraud ... have anyone watch glory "civil war movie" - sceen at house when well disciple soldier vs soldier got shot putting hand on white woman...

UNFIT TO WHERE THE UNIFORM OR BE A PUBLIC SERVANT

BTW, I THINK cjohnny54 has a EM FIELD or force field around him

do you know of jerry jone glory hole or sadamm hiding in gulf of mexico fishing hole?

That does it... WTFagboy just hit the rtm button. Time to take your meds and STFU.

[lustylad]

Originally Posted by bambino

Pittsburgh is a prime example of that. UPMC/Highmark

Yep. As bad as it is here, at least we have a duopoly where two dominant players (UPMC and Highmark) compete. Think how bad it is in other parts of the country where they only have one healthcare option.

[grean]

Originally Posted by lustylad

You entire premise is wrong, greenie-teeny-wienie. Most of the insurance companies aren't gouging us - it's the fucking hospitals! They set the outrageously exorbitant charges, they send out the bills, and they're the ones who shamelessly exploit the fact that consumers are often not in a position to shop around in a heathcare emergency. Read Steven Brill's 2013 Time magazine article "Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us" if you truly want to educate yourself. Do you even know what a hospital "chargemaster" is?

The insurers just act as an intermediary. They price risk pools and pass along (in the form of higher premiums) the ridiculous charges submitted by the hospitals. Your anger is misplaced. You're barking up the wrong tree. The ones who are profiting from our sickness are the hospitals. Insurers are LOSING hundreds of millions on the obamacare exchanges - that's why they're pulling out! Most of the dimotard plans to "fix" obamacare would simply throw taxpayer dollars at the problem by bailing out insurer losses.

When insurance companies try to push back against obscene hospital charges and question the need for certain tests and procedures, the doctors throw an indignant hissy fit and complain about non-doctors questioning their professional opinions! Gotta pay for that new hospital wing! Gotta keep all that new state-of-the-art equipment humming by pushing through as many patients as possible!

And to the extent that the insurance companies succeed in negotiating more reasonable pricing with the hospitals, those same hospitals then turn around and try to compensate by gouging the uninsured! If you check into a hospital uninsured, your bill will often be double or triple what it would be with insurance! I don't know any other industry where producers are allowed to price-discriminate so brazenly against their consumers! So think about it - no matter how much the insurance companies try to fix the problem, their efforts are undercut by the greedy fucking hospitals! They're the real villains!

To make matters even murkier and more objectionable, in many areas hospital chains also offer their own health insurance and sign up (or "lock up") doctors who can only accept patients who have their in-house insurance. I don't know how they get away with this kind of flagrantly anti-competitive behavior.

Hospitals might be part of the problem.

how does a single intermediary stand to make 7 billion net income? That's kinda gouging.

[grean]

Insurance companies aren't losing money....

[bambino]

Originally Posted by grean

Insurance companies aren't losing money....

Really? Could have fooled me:

http://insidetexas.com/forums/thread...-spiral.73390/

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...f-losing-money

You should do some research before you post.

[lustylad]

Originally Posted by grean

Hospitals might be part of the problem.

how does a single intermediary stand to make 7 billion net income? That's kinda gouging.

There is no "might" about it... hospitals ARE the problem. That's where the costs originate and are out of control.

I have no idea who you are talking about making $7 bn. Did you analyze their annual report/10-K and compare them with the rest of the industry?

$7 billion would only fund Medicare/Medicaid for 2 days.

Apple earns more than $7 billion every quarter. Do you complain about their gouging?

[garhkal]

Originally Posted by bambino

If congress gets rid of the mandates many will opt out of the ACA. Many are paying the fine already. DUH. Maybe some of the able bodied people on Medicaid will be bounced off.

And that's why i laugh every time we get the standard liberal sound bytes that "millions will no longer get coverage".. THEY ALREADY ARE NOT getting coverage cause they are paying the fines, OR will drop their coverage they were in essence, FORCED TO get.

You entire premise is wrong, greenie-teeny-wienie. Most of the insurance companies aren't gouging us - it's the fucking hospitals! They set the outrageously exorbitant charges, they send out the bills, and they're the ones who shamelessly exploit the fact that consumers are often not in a position to shop around in a heathcare emergency. Read Steven Brill's 2013 Time magazine article "Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us" if you truly want to educate yourself. Do you even know what a hospital "chargemaster" is?

Most hopsitals charge what the COMPANIES set, not what they want. Otherwise we wouldn't have a # of hospitals who've had to close cause they were in the red..

http://freedomoutpost.com/hospitals-...due-obamacare/

[tonyvicksa]

Each year when we renew our group policy there are no less than a dozen companies wanting our business. Insurance companies have a reasonable amount of competition. That and the free market helps control premiums.

It is a mathematical fact that from birth to Medicare MOST people would have been better off financially without health insurance. Anything you allow to be run through health insurance increases in price, think birth control. All these bitches complaining about birth control not being covered. Covering it only increases the cost and spreads that cost across the population. Pay for your own birth control!!

Free market does NOT work with hospitals, doctors, pharmacies, etc. You can't make an informed decision because you don't know until after the fact what they charge. Make hospitals, pediatricians, and pimple poppers start posting their rates. THEN you will see the free market kick in and prices drop.

Let the consumer know the cost of all procedures and then make an informed financially responsible decision.

[kehaar]

Originally Posted by WTF

What about the military dickhead. Are they an inept part of government? You do agree they are part of government right? What not set Healthcare up like the military?

Have you ever read the constitution? Do you believe it has any authority over our Federal Goverment?

The US constitution specifically imposes the duty to:

Run the post office.
Run the patent office.
Defend our country.

on the federal government.


In no part does it give the permission to the federal government to provide parasites with free abortions and birth control. People who believe it does are either:

delusional,
stupid or
fascist

or a combination of all 3.

If you don't like the constitution, change it, like a normal fascisit(see venezuela). At least you will be consistent.

[Yssup Rider]

PS -- I think EATLER is either on vacation or unemployed again. He posted some links...figuring out that whole "googling" thing. Lots of time on his hands...

[grean]

Originally Posted by bambino

Really? Could have fooled me:

http://insidetexas.com/forums/thread...-spiral.73390/

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...f-losing-money

You should do some research before you post.

Actually you should do actual research instead posting blog bullshit.

Aetna, from your first link, show on their companies 2016 10k , 2.2B in net income in 2016, which was down from 2.3 in 2015 but Way up from 2014 which had 2.0 billion reported net earnings.

Are we calling make over 2 billion in net income losing money???

[grean]

Originally Posted by lustylad

There is no "might" about it... hospitals ARE the problem. That's where the costs originate and are out of control.

I have no idea who you are talking about making $7 bn. Did you analyze their annual report/10-K and compare them with the rest of the industry?

$7 billion would only fund Medicare/Medicaid for 2 days.

Apple earns more than $7 billion every quarter. Do you complain about their gouging?

The 7b was UHC number, again from their own statement.

That is their profit, the took in over 140b in revenue( a.k.a premiums.)


So after paying out claims, paying salaries, other overhead, and taxes , they still made 7 billion.


Edit: I originally posted uhc had 50b in revenues. Aetna had 50 b in revenues UHC report 140 revenues from premiums.

[grean]

Originally Posted by bambino

Really? Could have fooled me:

http://insidetexas.com/forums/thread...-spiral.73390/

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...f-losing-money

You should do some research before you post.

Your bloomberg article mentions losses. UHC net income had been steadily increasing for years.

They may have not made as much as they wanted but still they are by no means hurting.

And again, tell me what they do?

Oh yeah they're just middle men.