The Sad Case of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

[leswp1]

Re: The Sad Case of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

pirate wins the thread. Too bad the entrenched masses in gov't won't buy it.

[Handyman]

Re: The Sad Case of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

If I were president, I'd hire a secret panel of people from other countries to come in and do a separate assessment of the issues and then make recommendations as a control for the obviously biased versions either party would propose or any mamby-pamby half-way solutions that both parties hold their nose and vote for.

This is an issue of long-term strategic importance to this country and we're making decisions based on solutions from people who run for re-election every few years and are aided by special interest groups.

Since there are no more statesmen, I'd go with people from a mix of other countries. (at least ones with healthcare) I'd likely find some inappropriate way to push the non-partisan version into place and I'd then lose my re-election bid. But, they wouldn't repeal it since the data coming out would be compelling and for the following 100 years, they'd look back and say "that was the right way to do it".

You some kind of Socialist or something?

[pirate]

Re: The Sad Case of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

You some kind of Socialist or something?

Ha. Hardly.

I'll leave it to those who argue such things if what I proposed was socialism, dictatorship or complete BS.

There is so much money in this mess that I believe we can figure out a way that everybody gets care, nobody pays more and there is ample money and competition for private companies.

Just the waste in the current system would sustain every uninsured person in the country. Of course, if one were to suggest the system become more efficient, they would be attacked from every angle and end up having an unfortunate accident on their way home at night.

p.s. - If I don't post anything tomorrow, send out the search party

[leswp1]

Re: The Sad Case of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Ha. Hardly.

I'll leave it to those who argue such things if what I proposed was socialism, dictatorship or complete BS.

There is so much money in this mess that I believe we can figure out a way that everybody gets care, nobody pays more and there is ample money and competition for private companies.

Just the waste in the current system would sustain every uninsured person in the country. Of course, if one were to suggest the system become more efficient, they would be attacked from every angle and end up having an unfortunate accident on their way home at night.

p.s. - If I don't post anything tomorrow, send out the search party

Why don't we just compensate the CEOs at a reasonable rate- that should cover 'few' extra things.

It is always proposed but I have yet to see an instance that it actually happens.Has there ever been a study on the impact of removing waste? It seems the waste would be propping up parts of the economy. If we rid the system of waste all those pencil pushers , all the people who manufacture the wasted stuff, etc would be out of a job. I always wonder about the economic effects of removing waste. Those are the people with the expendable income.

[pirate]

Re: The Sad Case of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Why don't we just compensate the CEOs at a reasonable rate- that should cover 'few' extra things.

It is always proposed but I have yet to see an instance that it actually happens.Has there ever been a study on the impact of removing waste? It seems the waste would be propping up parts of the economy. If we rid the system of waste all those pencil pushers , all the people who manufacture the wasted stuff, etc would be out of a job. I always wonder about the economic effects of removing waste. Those are the people with the expendable income.

There is, last I heard, $60B in medicare fraud per year, every year, just in one program. So, would include reducing fraud and streamlining the operation.

I don't know the number of vacancies in other government agencies but my first step would also include freezing all hiring in the types of levels I expect to shrink ...a pencil pusher can figure out how to push pencils in another agency. So, they don't lose jobs, they get transferred to another one. We should be able to wring out 3-4% of the people with little discernable impact.

So, let's reduce fraud by $10B a year for 4 years and save $40B on a run rate basis going forward.

The 3-4% is likely repeatable for 2-3 years netting 6-10% reduction in staff.

As you might guess, I'm not going to regulate CEO pay. I don't think it is the role of the president to set pay scales for private business. If he does, he should start with Carl Crawford.

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: The Sad Case of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

There is, last I heard, $60B in medicare fraud per year, every year, just in one program. So, would include reducing fraud and streamlining the operation.

I don't know the number of vacancies in other government agencies but my first step would also include freezing all hiring in the types of levels I expect to shrink ...a pencil pusher can figure out how to push pencils in another agency. So, they don't lose jobs, they get transferred to another one. We should be able to wring out 3-4% of the people with little discernable impact.

So, let's reduce fraud by $10B a year for 4 years and save $40B on a run rate basis going forward.

The 3-4% is likely repeatable for 2-3 years netting 6-10% reduction in staff.

As you might guess, I'm not going to regulate CEO pay. I don't think it is the role of the president to set pay scales for private business. If he does, he should start with Carl Crawford.

This October, Obummer will be "campaigning" by messing around with Medicare benefits. Expect him to screw over the voting population if he is re-elected, especially since the only accountability will be through a Congressional impeachment: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion...MeuZLJY7JzXEIJ

[pirate]

Re: The Sad Case of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

This October, Obummer will be "campaigning" by messing around with Medicare benefits. Expect him to screw over the voting population if he is re-elected, especially since the only accountability will be through a Congressional impeachment: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion...MeuZLJY7JzXEIJ

As long as trying to reduce fraud and waste is positioned as an attack on the needy and certain to leave people dying in squalor, nothing will change.

One side has to deny there is waste and fraud, the other has to grandstand on it, nobody is just taking it for what it is and trying to make it better.

I'd bet my net worth that billions could be saved without one person being denied appropriate care...it wouldn't be called fraud if it was deserving people getting appropriate treatment. But, the anecdotes and fear tactics will commence, gridlock will prevail and nothing will change.

[Handyman]

Re: The Sad Case of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Ha. Hardly.

I'll leave it to those who argue such things if what I proposed was socialism, dictatorship or complete BS.

There is so much money in this mess that I believe we can figure out a way that everybody gets care, nobody pays more and there is ample money and competition for private companies.

Just the waste in the current system would sustain every uninsured person in the country. Of course, if one were to suggest the system become more efficient, they would be attacked from every angle and end up having an unfortunate accident on their way home at night.

p.s. - If I don't post anything tomorrow, send out the search party

I know you are not...but bringing in other countries to help advise us...sounds like you are saying ther countries might have better ideas than us. And since undoubtedly some of those nations will have some aspect of socialism involved (at least socialized medicine) it can then be surmised using the transitive property of party politics and scare tactics that you are a SOCIALIST!!!!!11!!!

[FreshFish]

Re: The Sad Case of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Hmm....so many Republican governors like the idea of insurance exchanges, as long as they can set them up in a way that fits and makes sense for their state. Another failure of PPACA, it limits severely how the exchanges can be arranged and throws in some extraneous roadblocks as well.

[FreshFish]

Re: The Sad Case of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Good news is reported on the health insurance front for the people of Maine, and it further suggests that state-run programs may be better suited to address local and regional needs than some imposed-from-without, only-one-option-for everyone Procrustean "solution" from the Feds.

One tragedy of the Affordable Care Act is that we already know what its regulations will do to insurance markets, because the states have been conducting policy experiments since the 1990s. But we also know from the states that the damage is reversible, as shown by Maine's emerging insurance turnaround.

In 1993, Augusta passed coverage laws that resemble those that ObamaCare is about to impose nationwide: Insurers could only vary premiums within narrow bands regardless of age or health status, a regulation known as community rating. Four of Maine's five insurers in the individual market stopped offering coverage and fled, and the state entered an insurance "death spiral" in which premiums don't cover underlying medical costs. That leads to higher premiums, consumers dropping coverage as a result, and still higher premiums in turn.

Then the 2010 electoral wave carried in Republican Governor Paul LePage and a GOP legislature, and they took modest steps to deregulate the insurance market. Insurers are now allowed to sell policies for premiums that range from 3 to 1 on the basis of age, rather than the prior 1.5 to 1, and to offer incentives or discounts for consumers to choose high-value providers.

The state also created a reinsurance fund that taxes all health plans by $4 a month. If someone ends up requiring extremely expensive care, the fund picks up some of the costs, which means insurers can better manage their future liabilities and pass the savings on to individuals.

The returns are now rolling in for the new coverage that can be offered starting on July 1, and premiums are falling by as much as 69% for Maine's dominant insurer, Anthem.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...n_AboveLEFTTop

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: The Sad Case of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Good news is reported on the health insurance front for the people of Maine, and it further suggests that state-run programs may be better suited to address local and regional needs than some imposed-from-without, only-one-option-for everyone Procrustean "solution" from the Feds.



http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...n_AboveLEFTTop

Sounds like a novel idea! I know that's one reason that I decided to jump from the Federalist bandwagon: the country's just too large and diverse to put everyone under a single plan.

[FreshFish]

Re: The Sad Case of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Another unintended consequence bites those who are supposed to be helped: student health insurance plans at many colleges and universities. They tend to offer limited coverage (i.e., what most students need) at affordable rates. However, PPACA mandates a certain minimum level of coverage, which means that the student health plans now have to provide more coverage than before, jacking up premium rates substantially, to the point at which many schools are discontinuing the plans altogether.

[leswp1]

Re: The Sad Case of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Another unintended consequence bites those who are supposed to be helped: student health insurance plans at many colleges and universities. They tend to offer limited coverage (i.e., what most students need) at affordable rates. However, PPACA mandates a certain minimum level of coverage, which means that the student health plans now have to provide more coverage than before, jacking up premium rates substantially, to the point at which many schools are discontinuing the plans altogether.

Flip side- most of those plans are required of the students if they are enrolled and don't have other insurance. They cover nothing the student usually needs and cost quite a bit. Like piszing in the wind. Waste of money.

[ScoobyDoo]

Re: The Sad Case of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

There is one way to avoid the high cost of Health Care in your later years. Die.

[joecct]

Re: The Sad Case of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Flip side- most of those plans are required of the students if they are enrolled and don't have other insurance. They cover nothing the student usually needs and cost quite a bit. Like piszing in the wind. Waste of money.

2 colleges (Franciscan and Ave Maria) have dropped student health insurance citing the tripling of the cost (and the coverage of items that Catholicism will not allow).