I Agree with Obama believe it or not!!

[Navy1960]

compromise proposal to create privately operated health-insurance cooperatives as an alternative to a government-run health care plan is gaining steam in the Senate, several key senators said Wednesday.

The plan is shaping up as possibly the most viable way to bridge the key difference between Democrats and Republicans negotiating a health care overhaul, senators said.

The nonprofit co-ops, based on the model of electricity, agricultural and other cooperatives in rural states, would be run and paid for by its members, although an initial infusion of federal funds might be needed to get them off the ground, senators said.

But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Thursday dismissed the idea of health-insurance cooperatives as an alternative to a government-sponsored health-care plan.
Obama takes health care plan to the people - CNN.com
Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle recently signed legislation that expands access to health care cooperatives in Wisconsin and makes it easier for farmers and small business owners to get quality and affordable health insurance. In June, the U.S. Senate Agriculture Appropriations bill was passed in committee that included a provision sponsored by Senator Herb Kohl and Congressman Dave Obey to provide $2.25 million for a Wisconsin farmer health care cooperative to increase access to affordable health benefit plans.
Bill expands health care co-ops | Rural Cooperatives | Find Articles at BNET

I was listening to President Obama in Green Bay yesterday and this struck me as a pretty good idea. I tend to agree with the President that allowing small groups,businesses, and individuals to form private co-ops to purchase low cost healthcare is a good thing and may lead to promoting competetion among halth insurance providers and bring down the overall cost. However, I see after reading one of the articles that Nancy Pelosi is not very happy with solution because it does not include the Govt.. Personally as a Republican this is a plan I could actually get behind the President on and actually think will be a postive step in the right direction.

 

[random3434]

I tend to agree with the President that allowing small groups,businesses, and individuals to form private co-ops to purchase low cost healthcare is a good thing and may lead to promoting competetion among health insurance providers and bring down the overall cost.[/B

]

Me too, that would be great. Living here in "Farm Country" I am all for anything that helps out our fellow farmers here in America. A co-op insurance plan sounds like a great idea, and anything that brings down the cost of insurance by those big companies is even better, from small business owners to the little guy like you and me.

 

[Navy1960]

I tend to agree with the President that allowing small groups,businesses, and individuals to form private co-ops to purchase low cost healthcare is a good thing and may lead to promoting competetion among health insurance providers and bring down the overall cost.[/B

]

Me too, that would be great. Living here in "Farm Country" I am all for anything that helps out our fellow farmers here in America. A co-op insurance plan sounds like a great idea, and anything that brings down the cost of insurance by those big companies is even better, from small business owners to the little guy like you and me.

I think though Echo that most of Congress is hell bent on having the Govt. be the ultimate authority on healthcare in this country. This idea though I thought was a really good idea, and I did happen to notice that even though it has bi-partisan support it was quickly shot down by Nancy Pelosi.

 

[Baruch Menachem]

co ops will have the same problem as private insurance already has: Government mandates of bad risk.

Of course, moving away from government running it is a step forward. <insert broken clock joke> From what have seen of the man, I still feel suspicious. It is like watching a three card monte operator shuffle the cards. I am sure this card will vanish up the sleeve soon.

 

[Navy1960]

co ops will have the same problem as private insurance already has: Government mandates of bad risk.

Of course, moving away from government running it is a step forward. <insert broken clock joke> From what have seen of the man, I still feel suspicious. It is like watching a three card monte operator shuffle the cards. I am sure this card will vanish up the sleeve soon.

Still though, I think if this was allowed in some way to happen you would see especially in a lot of rural communities healthcare rise a bit as companies move in to service the newly insured groups. This is provided it is left in private hands to decide which direction its going to proceed. If this option remains on the table I am beginning to suspect that the Fed. Govt. will want a hand in managing these co-ops in some way.

 

[Contessa_Sharra]

Another area where billions could be saved, and yes, CITIZENS would do the jobs these people take. Then there is that anchor baby health care cost.....

support THIS:

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h1868/text​

Text of H.R.1868 as Introduced in House ​

Birthright Citizenship Act of 2009​

ParaPundit: One Year Of Illegal Alien Health Care Costs Would Pay For Border Barrier
2003 October 23 Thursday
One Year Of Illegal Alien Health Care Costs Would Pay For Border Barrier Non-citizens cost billions per year in uninsured health care.

Non-citizens are putting the hurt on our hospitals. A study by the Florida Hospital Association estimates that uninsured non-citizens cost the state's hospitals an average of $63,612 per patient last year.
The tab is rising as the number of immigrants continues to swell from coast to coast. The American Hospital Association reported that its member facilities provided $21 billion in uncompensated health-care services last year.
While not all those costs can be attributed to undocumented aliens, new Census data show that non-citizens are, by far, this country's largest group of uninsured residents — 43 percent of the total.
​

The costs of health care are just one way that low skilled low wage immigrant non-citizens cost the US economy and citizens money. Keep in mind that these figures above underestimate even the medical costs of low skilled immigrants because millions of illegals were granted citizenship thru amnesties and a large portion of them are uninsured. Also, the costs above do not include costs at government clinics and private practices or the costs of the US citizen children who are born in the United States to illegal aliens whose parents use Medicaid and other government programs to pay their health care. Even with this narrow definition on the costs of low skilled immigrants for health care the cost for less than a single year of paying the health care of non-citizens would pay for a barrier to keep illegal aliens from crossing into the United States from Mexico. Various cost estimates (see here and here and here) for the West Bank-Israel fence structure , if extrapolated to the longer US border with Mexico, suggest that the US could stop the flow of illegal aliens from Mexico for a cost of between $2 billion and $8 billion dollars. The range of cost estimates reflects the fact that the Israelis are building more and less formidable barriers in different sections depending on perceived risk. If we go for the more deluxe barrier structure for the entire border it would still cost less than a single year of uninsured and unpaid health care bills run up by non-citizens living within the US borders.
By Randall Parker at 2003 October 23 11:06 AM Immigration Economics

 

[MaggieMae]

compromise proposal to create privately operated health-insurance cooperatives as an alternative to a government-run health care plan is gaining steam in the Senate, several key senators said Wednesday.

The plan is shaping up as possibly the most viable way to bridge the key difference between Democrats and Republicans negotiating a health care overhaul, senators said.

The nonprofit co-ops, based on the model of electricity, agricultural and other cooperatives in rural states, would be run and paid for by its members, although an initial infusion of federal funds might be needed to get them off the ground, senators said.

But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Thursday dismissed the idea of health-insurance cooperatives as an alternative to a government-sponsored health-care plan.
Obama takes health care plan to the people - CNN.com
Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle recently signed legislation that expands access to health care cooperatives in Wisconsin and makes it easier for farmers and small business owners to get quality and affordable health insurance. In June, the U.S. Senate Agriculture Appropriations bill was passed in committee that included a provision sponsored by Senator Herb Kohl and Congressman Dave Obey to provide $2.25 million for a Wisconsin farmer health care cooperative to increase access to affordable health benefit plans.
Bill expands health care co-ops | Rural Cooperatives | Find Articles at BNET

I was listening to President Obama in Green Bay yesterday and this struck me as a pretty good idea. I tend to agree with the President that allowing small groups,businesses, and individuals to form private co-ops to purchase low cost healthcare is a good thing and may lead to promoting competetion among halth insurance providers and bring down the overall cost. However, I see after reading one of the articles that Nancy Pelosi is not very happy with solution because it does not include the Govt.. Personally as a Republican this is a plan I could actually get behind the President on and actually think will be a postive step in the right direction.

Screw Pelosi. She has about as much clout anymore as Minnie Mouse.

It's looking more and more likely that nothing will be passed this year unless it's a hugely scaled down program like that. But health care will remain a priority isssue, so I hope all those legislators keep their notes, because it will be back on the table before Obama's first term is over.

Here is a shocking example of why health care costs will continue to rise if left exclusively in the hands of private entities.


Austin ER's got 2,678 visits from 9 people over 6 years

In the past six years, eight people from Austin and one from Luling racked up 2,678 emergency room visits in Central Texas, costing hospitals, taxpayers and others $3 million, according to a report from a nonprofit made up of hospitals and other providers that care for the uninsured and low-income Central Texans.
...
The report that mentioned the nine high-frequency patients didn't include reasons for all of those ER visits and didn't identify the patients because of privacy laws. But Kitchen, a former state legislator from Austin, gave a sketch: All nine speak English; three are homeless; five are women whose average age is 40, and four are men whose average age is 50. Seven have a mental health diagnosis and eight have a drug abuse diagnosis. Kitchen said she did not know their citizenship status.

Read entire story and comments:
Austin ER's got 2,678 visits from 9 people over 6 years

 

[MaggieMae]

I tend to agree with the President that allowing small groups,businesses, and individuals to form private co-ops to purchase low cost healthcare is a good thing and may lead to promoting competetion among health insurance providers and bring down the overall cost.[/B

]

Me too, that would be great. Living here in "Farm Country" I am all for anything that helps out our fellow farmers here in America. A co-op insurance plan sounds like a great idea, and anything that brings down the cost of insurance by those big companies is even better, from small business owners to the little guy like you and me.

I think though Echo that most of Congress is hell bent on having the Govt. be the ultimate authority on healthcare in this country. This idea though I thought was a really good idea, and I did happen to notice that even though it has bi-partisan support it was quickly shot down by Nancy Pelosi.

Nancy Pelosi (the House) doesn't enact law. It draws draft bills, which if approved by the House, then go to the Senate and thereafter to conference between the House and Senate if there are revisions (advise and consent). Once approved in final form, the House is obligated to appropriate funds for a new bill, period. Make no mistake, Pelosi won't be given carte blanche to ram any health care bill through. She did enough damage with the Stimulus Package, which the Senate should have taken more time to debate to save all the criticism.

 

[MaggieMae]

And then there are those attractive tax deductions that Big Pharma is allowed to take for advertising--to the tune of $37 billion collectively. You know, those TV ads that entice people to self-diagnose then run to their doc and say I need this drug!

 

[editec]

I see no reason to believe that these coops are going to do anything to "bring dow" the cost of HC.

Somebody care to explain to me what will make the cost of HC go down just because we've created co-ops to take over where insurance companies left off?

FYI, the profits of private for profit insurance companies is about 5% of premiums, or so I'm informed, so perhaps that 5% might be part of the lowered cost.

But smaller isn't actually better when it comes to shared risks, so I'm somewhat dubious this is any kind of solution at all.

 

[Epsilon Delta]

Is it universal?

 

[MaggieMae]

I see no reason to believe that these coops are going to do anything to "bring dow" the cost of HC.

Somebody care to explain to me what will make the cost of HC go down just because we've created co-ops to take over where insurance companies left off?

FYI, the profits of private for profit insurance companies is about 5% of premiums, or so I'm informed, so perhaps that 5% might be part of the lowered cost.

But smaller isn't actually better when it comes to shared risks, so I'm somewhat dubious this is any kind of solution at all.

It's just like buying any commodity in bulk. It's cheaper by the dozen.

 

[Navy1960]

Founded in 1947, Group Health Cooperative is a consumer-governed, nonprofit health care system that coordinates care and coverage. Based in Seattle, Wash., Group Health and its subsidiary health carriers, Group Health Options, Inc. and KPS Health Plans, serve more than half a million residents of Washington state and Idaho.

About Group Health

I posted this in another thread a little while back when this subject came up. This is an example of one, but in short Maggie is right it's like buying healthcare in bulk. Personally, I think this is apretty good idea, especially for those communities that have little access to health insurance and especially for small business. While it's not going to cover everyone, IMHO I think its rather a pie in the sky thinking, to hope for universal healthcare unless it's mandated for everyone and then you have the problem of paying for it. So the best you can hope for is that the market place is allowed to thrive and also have the resources to provide cheap affordable healthcare to those that need it and want it.