American College of Physicians calls for radical change

No one is talking about removing all profits, just making them even be reasonable compared to the rest of the world.
Advancement is useless is no one can afford it.

 

The top 8 insurance companies grossed [have to be specific so people cannot show their integrity and just deflect] half a trillion dollars in 2018. Doctors should make good money, their jobs are important. Insurance companies are the opposite. They should not exist as the primary level of health care.

 

The problems the person I quoted claimed would happen if we switched to single payer.

 

❓ I think you have the % reversed.

▶ Medicare typically pays doctors only 80% of what private health insurance pays.

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/100215/what-do-when-your-doctor-doesnt-take-medicare.asp

~ Remember Medicare was designed for older folks - not the entire population . So far it seems the best way to improve healthcare is cutting waste and overcharge. This will require an unbiased review and analysis - but by who ? I don't know of any consumer group dedicated to this sort of thing. ( NOT AARP !! )

 

Medicare costs physicians a shitload in compliance costs and is the biggest headache out of all insurers when seeking reimbursement.

 

I can totally sympathize i once had an abscessed tooth the infection was the size of a golf ball. It happened overnight while i was a couple hours from home.. the pain was intense! Many of the solid concrete structures along the roadway were VERY inviting! But i managed to get home and the local dentist Lanced it and extracted the tooth for 350 bucks. Anyway i sympathize with anyone who has tooth problems even if they are caused by habitual behaviors.
Pain beyond the world. Is a description from Stephen King, i think it's accurate.

 

You are correct.
People should pay for maintenance care out of pocket. It would cost a lot less for everyone

 

Right now we have a lot of brilliant doctors.
A huge cut in pay will have some retire early and our brightest students will probably choose Another more profitable career path.

You get what you pay for & I sure don’t want a Maxine Waters type doing heart surgery on me because the class valedictorian’s picked law school over medical school because it is more profitable.

 

Clearly people can afford it or their wouldn't be profits.

 

What's stopping all the poor people that can't afford health insurance from getting together and starting their own?

 

Do you think any of that has to do with Obamacare which forced you to buy far more insurance than you would need? My wife works in medical billing, what a racket there is between doctors, insurance, and hospitals. Doctors pad the bill because the insurance companies make it as hard as possible for them to get paid so you have a whole industry created to try to get money paid between the interests. Doctors might make a lot, but their expenses are pretty high too, between government red tape, insurance companies, and malpractice insurance which often runs into six figures.

 

Was healthcare affordable prior to the ACA?
And without insurance companies being the primary source for medical treatment doctors offices will be able to focus on medical care instead of dealing with the insurance co. and pass those savings off to the patient. Reforms are needed in the malpractice / legal industry as well.

 

I paid less before it was enacted. Mine was fully covered by company paid insurance, after it was passed, we had to start contributing more and more.

 

Think your bill would go down at all if we removed an industry that removed half a trillion dollars from our economy to distribute care as they see fit?

 

No, since if we have it your way, that half a trillion will just go into government pockets.

 

You have zero idea what “my way” is, lets play like we are adults and not make assumptions about each others positions, deal?

 

I am not fundamentally against health care for all. What I am against is any system that is not fully paid for and which adds to our annual deficits. I am also extremely skeptical of Bernie and Liz's plans that pander to the notion that "someone else will pay for it."

If we - all of us - are willing to pay for it - in full - then we can probably do this if we choose to.

Present day Medicare is only partially funded by our payroll taxes. The rest is paid for by insurance premiums and deficit spending. And so a good starting point would be there. My suggestion is to start by raising our payroll taxes so that all medical care needed by our seniors is free. Free medical care would be fully funded by taxes, with no insurance companies involved, no Part A, Part B and Part D. All care, including pharmaceuticals, free. Let's pay for that and let the economy adjust to that.

After that, we could bring in another segment of the population, perhaps the 55-64 year old age group and fully pay for that with another increase in payroll taxes.

Phase it in. And let's see how it works out.

- Fully paid for by us through direct taxation
- No deficit spending

 

~ Maybe insurance industry could be more competitive - national instead of state licensing. Why have so many insurance agents independent ? Each company could employ customer service representatives.
Just a few thoughts ...

 

Speaking of your position. I'm still waiting for you to tell me the country that is as innovative as the United States that has a non-capitalist form of economic structure.

 

Where's your source for this? Because it sounds made up.

 

~ As much as U.S. healthcare can/should be more "non-profit " and efficient , I think many fail to realize that the capitalist form of economic structure you speak of is exactly what enables America to lead the way in new drug development and medical procedures. This is very important to not overlook.

 

Can you explain the moral justification for utterly BANKRUPTING an entire family in order to pay for the healthcare of their sick child?

 

Stealing from the middle class ENDS when they can no longer afford to pay extortion level medical bills and/or insurance premiums.

 

Please provide links supporting that "deficit spending" allegation about Medicare.

 

I worked from 1988 to 2012 in medical billing.