US Message Board - Political Discussion Forum - View Single Post - Do Americans favor the creation of a public health insurance?

toomuchtime_ · #**136** (**permalink**) 06-24-2009, 03:16 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by sealybobo

Quote: Originally Posted by toomuchtime_

Quote: Originally Posted by sealybobo

At first the public plan will get government money, and then after that it will be funded by premiums.

All the for profits have to do is lower their costs and start being competitive. There goes that company jet.

And instead of a $20 million bonus, they'll only get $1 million dollar bonus'. Boo Hoo!!

I can't remember the details, but there was this doctor in charge of a hospital or in charge of a insurance company and his pay was so outragous you wouldn't believe it. I wish I could find the story. But that is why healthcare is out of control.

I remember a few years ago people on the right tried to tell me that CEO/Executive pay was a drop in the bucket. I always knew that was a lie but never had proof. Now we know.

Just the CEO alone. If he/she makes $20 million dollars, that's 400 people making $50K a year.

And look at how much CEO pay is now compared to years ago. Funny they get cost of living raises and raises to help with inflation but we don't?

In 2005 CEO's made 300 times more than their workers. Today 431 to one. Fuck anyone who says a line worker isn't worth $35 hr.

In the old days they made 40 times more than the average worker.

Again, fuck anyone who can justify this and not want to pay a line worker $35 hr.

Both Obama and the Congressional Dems have refused to rule out subsidies to a public plan that would not be available to private plans, and it is this fear that government subsidies would allow a public plan to charge artificially lower premiums to drive private plans out of business in order to usher in a government monopoly on health insurance. Without the additional subsidies, a public plan would essentially be a non profit insurance companies, and non profit insurance companies have not fared all that well against for profit insurance companies.

WRONG! Obama doesn't want to drive private plans out of business and he doesn't want to run GM.

BULLSHIT!

And subsodies are my best friend if they will drive down costs. Do you want me to cry for the insurance companies? Not gonna happen.

So tell me, why have non profits not done well against for profits? Did the big boys run them out of business? Please explain and prove that statement. You must have links.

All your arguments would have had some merit a few years ago, but we are all way to informed to be bullshitted. For profits jacked their rates up 191% since 2001. Unacceptable, whether you want to admit it or not.

Just like you guys didn't believe gas at $4 was because of deregulations/speculation and gouging. Even when they had record profits, that wasn't enough. FACT, if it was simply s&d, their profits wouldn't have gone up at all. They would have only increased the prices as much as the cost went up.

NEXT!

Obama was asked about subsidies for a public plan at his press conference and refused to rule it out. If the public plan receives subsidies, it will not have to base its rates on its premium income and investment returns on its reserves, and tax dollars or deficit dollars will be paying the difference between the rate the public plan's revenues indicate it should charge and what it would actually charge. That's how the Standard Oil and other monopolies were formed: artificially lower prices to drive your competitors out of business and then raise your prices. Without subsidies, of course, the public plan would have to base its charges on its legitimate revenues, and those would be much the same as private plans.

Well run non profit insurance companies have not been run out of business, but neither have they provided much competition for for profit companies. In order for a non profit to compete, it has to hire marketing and advertising people, and to get good ones, it has to pay pretty much what for profit companies have to pay, and it has to hire portfolio managers to invest its reserves, and pay what other companies are willing to pay to get good ones. Without first rate marketing and advertising people, the plan doesn't grow, and first rate investment people, it doesn't earn enough on its reserves to keep its premiums low. There are lots of non profit insurance companies around, but they are generally small and their rates are pretty much what the rates for for profits companies are.