Affordable Health Care Law under review by SCOTUS

[In the Corn]

So are you saying that the lack of competition is allowing prices to be held artificially high - because there are no other options??

[And no - ITC and I did not talk about this post in advance]

I'm not inclined to agree or disagree about pricing. I think the one company there could certainly gouge, but obviously, others are stepping in because they are potentially losing too much money.

[The Feral Slasher]

Customer Service

Lets start a new health insurance company, me and you. We wont need govt regulation because we'll just do whats right. Our slogan will be "no surprises." Once word gets out that we are better than the other insurance companies, our membership will rise quickly and everyone else will be forced to treat their customers better.

The quote above is from the health care thread. I think it is interesting to discuss more generally. Has the free market led to better or worse customer service ? Has this changed at all in the era of huge corporations ?

Are there examples of customer service improving or declining over the last 50 years or so...seems like technology helps in some regards but also hurts in that it makes it more difficult to talk to an actual person.

The link below is about banking in Canada. It sure seems to me that in Healthcare and Finance, probably due to the complexities, the corporations have a bigger incentive to rip people off to earn money rather than try to win customers by providing excellent service. But maybe there are examples that would disprove this. I'm curious to hear Baldgriff's and CBB's on this.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/banks-upselling-go-public-1.4023575

Employees from all five of Canada's big banks have flooded Go Public with stories of how they feel pressured to upsell, trick and even lie to customers to meet unrealistic sales targets and keep their jobs.

The deluge is fuelling multiple calls for a parliamentary inquiry, even as the banks claim they're acting in customers' best interests.

Edit: Ooops, meant to start a new thread for this...but failed

[Redbirds Fan]

So if Mrs. ITC or myself need some type of surgery, I'm sure we'd max out. Where would you have me cut my budget to pay that $13,900 deductible?

I'm sorry I don't have an answer for that. I hope we as a nation come up with a solution which provides good health care for households that doesn't wreck their finances. From what I have seen, the plan under consideration would only make your situation worse.

Insurance premiums have gone up, and insurance companies are using the ACA as a pretext for predatory pricing. The ACA is a convenient scapegoat, and many Republicans moderate and not are saying no to Trump care. Even Asa Hutchinson, governor from my home state, has come out against it, mostly because it of how it hurts thouse on medicaid.

People tend to forget how high medical care is, since all of the attention has been on the supposed effect of Obamacare on insurance premiums. Since I started practicing in the 80s, the number one reason for bankruptcies of working people was medical bills. One serious illness or on-the-job injury working for a company which turned out not to have workman's comp could put a person in a hole from which they would never recover on their own. And it isn't because the doctors were making too much money. I don't have a problem with the wages of 90% of the doctors I have known. They have worked hard to get where they are, and most of them work hard now. But the system costs too much. There are too many people making too much money from too many of the moving parts. Doctor's fees, IMHO, are the least of the problem.

[Pogues]

I'm sorry I don't have an answer for that. I hope we as a nation come up with a solution which provides good health care for households that doesn't wreck their finances. From what I have seen, the plan under consideration would only make your situation worse.

Insurance premiums have gone up, and insurance companies are using the ACA as a pretext for predatory pricing. The ACA is a convenient scapegoat, and many Republicans moderate and not are saying no to Trump care. Even Asa Hutchinson, governor from my home state, has come out against it, mostly because it of how it hurts thouse on medicaid.

People tend to forget how high medical care is, since all of the attention has been on the supposed effect of Obamacare on insurance premiums. Since I started practicing in the 80s, the number one reason for bankruptcies of working people was medical bills. One serious illness or on-the-job injury working for a company which turned out not to have workman's comp could put a person in a hole from which they would never recover on their own. And it isn't because the doctors were making too much money. I don't have a problem with the wages of 90% of the doctors I have known. They have worked hard to get wher they are, and most of them work hard now. But they system costs too much. There are too many people making too much money from too many of the moving parts. Doctor's fees, IMHO, are the least of the problem.

This thread has been very helpful in my decision as to where I stand on the entire health care issue. I've told people around me that one of two things need to happen, we go to universal health care run by the government or we need the government to regulate the medical industry in regards to costs for procedures, medications, etc.

But the sentence in bold represents where I now fall. Too many hands grabbing too much money too often. We need to eliminate the unnecessary hands. Insurance companies are in it for a profit, but could be eliminated from the equation.

The government isn't in it for profit. Universal health care.

[Moonlight J]

This thread has been very helpful in my decision as to where I stand on the entire health care issue. I've told people around me that one of two things need to happen, we go to universal health care run by the government or we need the government to regulate the medical industry in regards to costs for procedures, medications, etc.

But the sentence in bold represents where I now fall. Too many hands grabbing too much money too often. We need to eliminate the unnecessary hands. Insurance companies are in it for a profit, but could be eliminated from the equation.

The government isn't in it for profit. Universal health care.

welcome to the club. So many things to make profit on, but people's pain & suffering shouldn't be it.

[baldgriff]

The government isn't in it for profit.

Interesting that with all of the discussion about budgets and the wasteful spending, biggest example in the area of military spending, that one may think that the govt isnt in it for profit. They seem to be the one perpetuating it by paying ridiculous amounts to whomever they contract with. They are at least complicit in the profit making.

[Moonlight J]

seen on Twitter: If they changed Meals on Wheels to Dining with Drones and paid a defense contractor an absurd amount of money to develop it, the program would live on.

[cardboardbox]

Interesting that with all of the discussion about budgets and the wasteful spending, biggest example in the area of military spending, that one may think that the govt isnt in it for profit. They seem to be the one perpetuating it by paying ridiculous amounts to whomever they contract with. They are at least complicit in the profit making.

Everything the govt touches becomes a massive waste of money. Doesnt matter which party is in power.

[baldgriff]

Everything the govt touches becomes a massive waste of money. Doesnt matter which party is in power.

Agreed.. which is why I prefer less government.

[Moonlight J]

oh dear lord....

http://www.vox.com/2017/3/20/14991184/ahca-magic-asterisk?utm_campaign=mattyglesias&utm_content=chorus&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

[Hornsby]

oh dear lord....


http://www.vox.com/2017/3/20/1499118...source=twitter

LOL...what they're doing is trying to throw the Senate under the bus by passing the buck to them. And then, when the Senate votes it down, they can throw up their hands like they did when they voted to repeal the ACA more than 50 times before. And say, "See? WE did our job once again, totally out of our control!" Fucking bunch of cowards...especially Ryan.

[Redbirds Fan]

oh dear lord....


http://www.vox.com/2017/3/20/1499118...source=twitter

So now Trumpcare is sh*t sandwich a la mode.

[dslaw]

I'm over 50 and have some ideas of what they can with that $75B.

[Pogues]

Interesting that with all of the discussion about budgets and the wasteful spending, biggest example in the area of military spending, that one may think that the govt isnt in it for profit. They seem to be the one perpetuating it by paying ridiculous amounts to whomever they contract with. They are at least complicit in the profit making.

Absolutely agree. We've all heard the stories of $200 toilet seats and other oddities (though working in supply in the Army for 2 years I wonder about the truth of such things), and maybe some day we'll figure out how to stop it.

[Hornsby]

Really shocking to see just how hard it is to remove health care from millions of people who've never had it, and discovered that they kind of like it.

Watching the GOP fighting itself is hilarious, almost Democratic party like.