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The PPACA Thread Part IV - Repeal & Replace, or Something...

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Re: The PPACA Thread Part IV - Repeal & Replace, or Something...

aparch said:
Is there any evidence that costs "balooned" because of Obamacare? And I don't mean empirical evidence from the public on their costs. Has anyone looked at it from the insurance companies point of view?
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The joke is it was all out of control and increasing anyway. Since the Democrats passed Obamacare it's now Obamacare's fault but I'm willing to bet it wouldn't have made a difference.
 
Re: The PPACA Thread Part IV - Repeal & Replace, or Something...

ScoobyDoo said:
http://www.startribune.com/rep-erik...ll-put-minnesotans-back-in-control/421676513/

Eric Paulsen defends his vote.
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You know why he wrote this right? he is friggin afraid. That is why he had to have a security detail at the airport when he came home the other day. he knows he is in a lot of trouble over this and he is praying that the people in his district buy his BS. Spoiler alert: they dont. People on both sides are ticked off because unlike him they actually read the bill.
 
Re: The PPACA Thread Part IV - Repeal & Replace, or Something...

Handyman said:
You know why he wrote this right? he is friggin afraid. That is why he had to have a security detail at the airport when he came home the other day. he knows he is in a lot of trouble over this and he is praying that the people in his district buy his BS. Spoiler alert: they dont. People on both sides are ticked off because unlike him they actually read the bill.
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It is interesting how that whole commentary piece was Republican talking points. I've never voted for the man. I knew the man was drip slime the minute I read his first campaign literature.
 
Re: The PPACA Thread Part IV - Repeal & Replace, or Something...

Cost is an issue, but I thought I read that they've slowed a ton under Obamacare.

If he wants to tackle costs, he should have helped develop a better system than vote yes for this POS legislation.
 
Re: The PPACA Thread Part IV - Repeal & Replace, or Something...

Deutsche Gopher Fan said:
Cost is an issue, but I thought I read that they've slowed a ton under Obamacare.

If he wants to tackle costs, he should have helped develop a better system than vote yes for this POS legislation.
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Cost is the only issue. If cost weren't an issue everyone would already be covered.
 
Re: The PPACA Thread Part IV - Repeal & Replace, or Something...

ScoobyDoo said:
Cost is the only issue. If cost weren't an issue everyone would already be covered.
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The issue is direct costs related to those purchasing from the individual exchange markets. Those plans are separate from the employer group plans, and they're being priced separately from employer sponsored plans. Group plans have the healthy and the infirmed aggregated already, whereas the infirmed are the majority of people signing up for the exchanges. So the price changes for those specific products reflect that.
 
Re: The PPACA Thread Part IV - Repeal & Replace, or Something...

St. Clown said:
The issue is direct costs related to those purchasing from the individual exchange markets. Those plans are separate from the employer group plans, and they're being priced separately from employer sponsored plans. Group plans have the healthy and the infirmed aggregated already, whereas the infirmed are the majority of people signing up for the exchanges. So the price changes for those specific products reflect that.
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I think the way pools are designed is wrong. Pools are designed right now to benefit the insurance industry instead of the consumer and taxpayer. Case in point. My company is a separate pool. Why? When I buy car insurance the pool is all of the cars insured by my insurance company. What the Feds need to do is put all pre-existing conditions in a Federal Pool to distribute out the costs. I believe that's what Maine did Statewide successfully. It would be even better with a bigger bucket.
 
Re: The PPACA Thread Part IV - Repeal & Replace, or Something...

ScoobyDoo said:
I think the way pools are designed is wrong. Pools are designed right now to benefit the insurance industry instead of the consumer and taxpayer. Case in point. My company is a separate pool. Why? When I buy car insurance the pool is all of the cars insured by my insurance company. What the Feds need to do is put all pre-existing conditions in a Federal Pool to distribute out the costs. I believe that's what Maine did Statewide successfully. It would be even better with a bigger bucket.
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Care insurance doesn't work that way.

Are you <25 years old, male, single and have no children, and have prior tickets/accidents? That's a high-risk pool, and priced accordingly.
Are you >35, married, with children, and a clean record? That's a low-risk pool, and priced accordingly.
 
Re: The PPACA Thread Part IV - Repeal & Replace, or Something...

St. Clown said:
Care insurance doesn't work that way.

Are you <25 years old, male, single and have no children, and have prior tickets/accidents? That's a high-risk pool, and priced accordingly.
Are you >35, married, with children, and a clean record? That's a low-risk pool, and priced accordingly.
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Yes, but those pools extend across the entire insurance company. That's not how they do Medical insurance. Medical insurance pools are smaller (your company size). Or you as an individual. Insurance is supposed to spread out the costs to everyone so it's affordable for the individual. That's not how medical insurance is being done.
 
ScoobyDoo said:
Cost is the only issue. If cost weren't an issue everyone would already be covered.
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Sorry I'm not strictly talking about costs of coverage- more like costs of services too. I've spent time in network and contracting.
 
Re: The PPACA Thread Part IV - Repeal & Replace, or Something...

Deutsche Gopher Fan said:
Sorry I'm not strictly talking about costs of coverage- more like costs of services too. I've spent time in network and contracting.
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No, exactly correct. Cost of services is an issue as well. We need to find cheaper, better, faster ways to diagnose things and we can start by finding a cheaper way to do MRI's. MRI's are avoided like the plague because they cost so much and yet they are the doctor's best tool for many diagnosis. We need a better tool that's cheaper or we need to find a way to make MRI's cheap.
 
Re: The PPACA Thread Part IV - Repeal & Replace, or Something...

ScoobyDoo said:
No, exactly correct. Cost of services is an issue as well. We need to find cheaper, better, faster ways to diagnose things and we can start by finding a cheaper way to do MRI's. MRI's are avoided like the plague because they cost so much and yet they are the doctor's best tool for many diagnosis. We need a better tool that's cheaper or we need to find a way to make MRI's cheap.
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There are imaging companies that have started popping up, offering cheap MRIs. Cheap for an MRI is a relative term, because the cost of the machine is so expensive, but the market has already started moving the price down. There's a company in MN that's been advertising that exact thing for the past year or so. My most recent MRI was only about $300. Three years ago it was closer to $1,500 billed to my insurance.
 
Re: The PPACA Thread Part IV - Repeal & Replace, or Something...

St. Clown said:
There are imaging companies that have started popping up, offering cheap MRIs. Cheap for an MRI is a relative term, because the cost of the machine is so expensive, but the market has already started moving the price down. There's a company in MN that's been advertising that exact thing for the past year or so. My most recent MRI was only about $300. Three years ago it was closer to $1,500 billed to my insurance.
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Good to know. The last one that I paid for was just last year and it was $1500.
 
Re: The PPACA Thread Part IV - Repeal & Replace, or Something...

Handyman said:
You know why he wrote this right? he is friggin afraid. That is why he had to have a security detail at the airport when he came home the other day. he knows he is in a lot of trouble over this and he is praying that the people in his district buy his BS. Spoiler alert: they dont. People on both sides are ticked off because unlike him they actually read the bill.
Click to expand...

He should be afraid. Don'tcha know all DemoRAT voters are violent Marxists? ;)
 
Re: The PPACA Thread Part IV - Repeal & Replace, or Something...

ScoobyDoo said:
Yes, but those pools extend across the entire insurance company. That's not how they do Medical insurance. Medical insurance pools are smaller (your company size). Or you as an individual. Insurance is supposed to spread out the costs to everyone so it's affordable for the individual. That's not how medical insurance is being done.
Click to expand...

oh right.... cigna doesn't extend their risk across anything. tiny company size pools.... :rolleyes:
 
St. Clown said:
There are imaging companies that have started popping up, offering cheap MRIs. Cheap for an MRI is a relative term, because the cost of the machine is so expensive, but the market has already started moving the price down. There's a company in MN that's been advertising that exact thing for the past year or so. My most recent MRI was only about $300. Three years ago it was closer to $1,500 billed to my insurance.
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The MRI costs $300. Interpreting the results (billed separately) will cost you $1,200. :)
 
Re: The PPACA Thread Part IV - Repeal & Replace, or Something...

joecct said:
The MRI costs $300. Interpreting the results (billed separately) will cost you $1,200. :)
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No, I paid $60. The whole thing came out to be just north of $300.
 
Re: The PPACA Thread Part IV - Repeal & Replace, or Something...

Much of the MRI cost is in the interpretation. I would also add that many MRIs from the outside "low cost" centers can often be near worthless. They are cheaper for one because they are often done on less powerful machines. Another aspect is the protocol. An MRI at an academic center usually has a well experienced radiologist look over the order (who has access to the complete medical record), deem which sequences are best and make sure they are performed correctly. I am able to consult with the radiologist and get the most bang for our buck on a single MRI.

I think it is important to provide choice but a patient needs to know the downsides. I end up repeating most "MRI in a box" MRIs because they are done so **** poorly that one cannot tell much from them. Sure, some cases you can get by with that (I think ortho questions are generally better answered as they have a much simpler set of sequences) but for the most part in my field, it is a waste of time and money.

And do not get me started on open MRIs ;)
 
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