Health Insurance and C19

[fried-chicken]

Better start lubing your assholes up now for those 2021 premiums. Health insurance companies are starting to put out projections that C19 could raise premiums by 40% as they try to recover from massive payouts. I guess the majority of Americans getting a disease that has a high hospitalization rate kind of blows up this whole scam. If everyone gets sick then everyone pays full price. Seems like we'll just pay it over time. I hope the Christian Partnership plans have enough liquidity for this.

 

[Knight_Classes_begin_7pm]

Better start lubing your assholes up now for those 2021 premiums. Health insurance companies are starting to put out projections that C19 could raise premiums by 40% as they try to recover from massive payouts. I guess the majority of Americans getting a disease that has a high hospitalization rate kind of blows up this whole scam. If everyone gets sick then everyone pays full price. Seems like we'll just pay it over time. I hope the Christian Partnership plans have enough liquidity for this.

Exactly! The richest companies in the world (the insurance companies) have to make their billions off of human health (our #1 asset)

 

[goodknightfl]

One good thing about turning 65 later this year,

 

[fried-chicken]

One good thing about turning 65 later this year,

You mean socialism?

 

[DaShuckster]

You mean the concept that he paid the premiums in his lifetime?

You people need to make up your minds.

Not that long ago I was told that paying premiums my entire life didn't mean diddily-squat because the costs outweigh the revenues.

 

[Crazyhole]

Better start lubing your assholes up now for those 2021 premiums. Health insurance companies are starting to put out projections that C19 could raise premiums by 40% as they try to recover from massive payouts. I guess the majority of Americans getting a disease that has a high hospitalization rate kind of blows up this whole scam. If everyone gets sick then everyone pays full price. Seems like we'll just pay it over time. I hope the Christian Partnership plans have enough liquidity for this.

Imagine how high taxes would have to go under MFA with this pandemic. 3.2 trillion becomes 4.7 trillion.

 

[fried-chicken]

You mean the concept that he paid the premiums in his lifetime?

MFA would have premiums paid too 4% of earnings. Is that officially not socialism?

 

[fried-chicken]

Imagine how high taxes would have to go under MFA with this pandemic. 3.2 trillion becomes 4.7 trillion.

Taxes or premiums, means nothing to me both cost me money. The government can just make unlimited money like they do for businesses so I'd rather have them in charge collecting over a long period of time vs a company that needs to please investors with EPS.

 

[Crazyhole]

Unfortunately when government is involved you lose natural advancements. No desire to increase automation, reduce staff in specific areas to grow other areas with technology. Honestly no desire for anything to be efficient. Really creates a slacker environment and untouchable environment. Be careful what you wish for.

Obviously you didn't hear. The more decisions that the government can make for your life, the better it will be. Happiness abounds when you dont have the freedom to make your own choices

 

[DaShuckster]

Unfortunately when government is involved you lose natural advancements. No desire to increase automation, reduce staff in specific areas to grow other areas with technology.

Sorry to interrupt the discussion with an OT rant but---how has eliminating phone receptionist positions and replacing them with automated systems improved customer service?

 

[Crazyhole]

You must be really old and I don't mean that offensive. Automated systems don't stop at the phone receptionist...lol. Everything on how systems talk to each other, automated billing, video conferencing with patients, passing scans in an automated channel groups, automation/ai for capicity levels/work coverage for specific times, and I could go on and on. Automation with website and phone is just a small portion of that. Digital advancements save time and resources. Resources that can be used for actually helping the patients.

Telehealth is a great example of what you're talking about.

 

[fried-chicken]

Telehealth is a great example of what you're talking about.

Is that an insurance industry innovation?

 

[fried-chicken]

That is just one example. Automation and AI will be improved using the private sector of medicine. That isn't to say things can't be tweaked. Reduce ligation is one example.

The private sector of medicine isn't going anywhere.

We're talking about health insurance. The payer. Not the doctor.

What are these HEALTH INSURANCE INNOVATIONS that well be missing out on if the government gets involved?

 

[BorisSutherland]

Good one, but we know how corporate and all this industry makes millions each year because of ignorant people. They think they don’t need insurance because they have decided so. One of the best excuses for people are the fact they think doing so will bring them more money, or they will save more money. It doesn’t matter really, what matter that in case of something unpredicted they will pay for aspirin 15 British pounds and one day at hospital for 3~6 K pounds. It’s that easy, it’s not a joke. My insurance was planned and accepted from the list of the best insurance companies on best private healthcare UK. Their policy is acceptable, it’s only a matter of time to understand it all what is needed to have a clear image, and to move forward.

 

[Boosted87]

That is just one example. Automation and AI will be improved using the private sector of medicine. That isn't to say things can't be tweaked. Reduce ligation is one example.

Here's the problem - Insurance companies have ZERO incentive to reduce overall healthcare expenditures. Their only long term incentive is to see healthcare (as a % of GDP) increase. Why? Because their revenue is transactional. It's like expecting a credit card company to want the cost of Legos to decrease.

What's important to realize is that profit margins are very limited (like 1.5% small) in that industry. They're a middle-man taking a vig on every transaction. They don't really compete with each other on price in the way that a business with normal profit margins might.

So no matter what happens with the industry, their margins are going to be razer thin. In a world where health care costs were cut in half, their profits would be cut in half. In a world where health care costs double, their profits will double.

Plus, we've already taken the highest risk groups (seniors) and put them on a government program. So basically, we let private insurers profit on the healthier segments while the taxpayer handles the riskier segments.

 

[Boosted87]

Zero incentive? Wtf. Everything is based on productivity. If they can get a process in place where they can shave off hundreds of millions of expenses that either goes to the bottom line and likely expanding business. Other insurance providers need to match the efficiency or get eliminated.

In the government system there is zero need for efficiencies. You can just extract as much money as needed out of taxpayers. There is also no incentive for good service. Have you ever noticed the crap service in a government office? You might waste 2 hours. Private businesses couldn't survive with that.

Lesson...government is not as efficient or productive as the private sector. Usually reluctant with automation since it impacts jobs.

I get the argument you're making, but you need to examine this one level higher. I didn't say there zero incentive to reduce their own cost structure and compete with each other, I said there was zero incentive to reduce overall healthcare expenditures (economy wide). I mean, can you think of any industry that says "we make up too large a % of GDP. We should try to shrink ourselves."

In 1960. health care spending was 5% of GDP. In 1980 it 9%. In 2000, it was 13.3% In 2010 it was 17.4%. 2020 is estimated at 18%. It's leveled off as a % of GDP in the last 10 years or at least compared to prior decades.

For comparison - 2018 has the US around 17% of GDP, with Switzerland in 2nd (among OECD) at 12.2%. Lots of countries in the 8-11% range. If the US could suddenly match Switzerland in outlays as a % of GDP, insurers would see their revenue (and profits) drop by 25%.

So explain to me how insurance companies - as a group - are incentivized to decrease health care expenditures as a % of GDP? They are far more incentivized to work together and fund lobbyists who resist any structural change that could drive expenditures in that direction. Profit margins are razer thin. The easiest way to grow profit by 5% each year is if Americans spend 5% more on health care than they did the year before.

 

[Boosted87]

Lesson...government is not as efficient or productive as the private sector. Usually reluctant with automation since it impacts jobs.

I generally agree with you but there's so much more to it than that. I think private prisons are a good example. A private prison may cost less per inmate than a government run prison, but the prison owner is incentivized to maximize the prisoner population and lengthen their stays to drive up demand and revenue. That may not align with societies goals of rehabilitating and reducing the number of people incarcerated.

So over the long run, a system with poorly aligned incentives may cost taxpayers more even if it's more efficient (and cheaper) in the short term. Sometimes the profit motive is simply not aligned with the public interest.