But that isn't the same thing. In a private insurance pool I'm volunatarily agreeing to enter into a risk pool with a group of people. And I have the knowledge that a private business is probably not going to accept people that are going to pose a high risk to them and ultimately me. With government being the single payer, I don't have the choice. Government is legally requiring me to pay for regardless of their risk or behaviors that may have caused their condition.
So are you saying that anyone that is high risk should just be left to fend for themselves, and that they should not be permitted to be part of the overall pool because it will cost you a few extra bucks? What if down the road that is your kids or some other family member who has some type of condition that is costly to treat? They shouldn't be allowed into the pool either? Basically you are saying you just don't want to pay anything toward those who are sick or costly to care for; it's not your responsibility. Bottom line, only the healthy have a right to stay healthy. For those born sick or who become sick early on, or who cannot afford it on their own, to hell with them, because you only want an insurance pool that includes the healthy to begin with.
Auditor....it doesn't work.
It's a scam.
Obamacare created a new $5 billion dollar program called the "Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan to help folks who couldn't get insurance. In the spring of 2010, the Medicare program's chief actuary predicted that 375,000 people would sign up by the end of the year.
"Coverage for people living with such conditions as diabetes, asthma, cancer, and HIV/AIDS has often been priced out of the reach..."
How many did by early November? Eight thousand and eleven....
check for yourself, here
State by State Enrollment in the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, as of November 1, 2010 « Health Justice Network
It turned out to still be too expensive....
Obamacare is not the answer.
Actually, we really do not know if the Healthcare plan will work or not. Currently, those with pre-existing conditions can purchase a policy through the high risk pool. BTW, enrollment has doubled to over 20,000 as of January. But as you pointed out, that is well below the numbers expected. Part of the problem is that many who have pre-existing conditions also have trouble earning enough money to pay for insurance whether it's available or not. If you are sick and can only work part-time, you may well earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but you don't make enough to afford the premiums for the high risk pools. And even if someone can squeeze out the payments, they still must meet their deductible before the plan kicks in.
I am one of those who has purchased insurance through the high risk pool. I'm 47 and my premiums are $392 per month with a $2500 deductible. Unless I become seriously ill, I'll never meet my deductible, so most of my medical care is paid for out of pocket on top of the $392 per month. In my case, Medical Mutual, the company that is handling the high risk pool in Ohio, is making a killing off of me. They get a higher premium than from most and the only thing they pay out on is part of my two doctor visits per year. That does not mean that they make a killing off of every person in the high risk pool. I'm certain with some they are losing money. However, it is likely they are making something or at least they thought they could, or they would just have let the federal government run it.
But we cannot completely judge the plan based on the high risk pool alone. In 2014, the high risk pools will end, and people such as myself will be able to purchase our insurance like everyone else, with the same rates as everyone else. On top of that, for those who cannot afford it, there will be financial help from the government.
Now I understand that means somebody will be subsidizing those plans. But to me that is better than where we were one year ago. The key though, is that everyone must be on board paying into the system.
Here is my bottom line, and I don't care if we use private insurance or a single payer system run by the government for this example. If everyone is paying into the system, then cost is truly pooled between everyone, not just the healthy. Yes, costs may increase for certain individuals, but in the long run, it should bring costs down. The key is having everyone in the system from the beginning. As it stands now, many people who become sick and don't have coverage never had coverage to begin with. If you become sick when you're 50 and have never paid for health insurance, it skews everything. However, if that individual was paying into the system all along and then becomes sick, it's not such a big deal, and it makes spreading the cost throughout the pool much more palatable and fair.
BTW, the reason I am in the high risk pool is that when I moved out of state, I lost my health insurance. I was with Anthem of Colorado. When I moved to Ohio, they told me they would not cover me. Not even Anthem of Ohio who is owned by Wellpointe, the same company that owns Anthem of Colorado. I was a risk, so they saw a way out, and since I was a risk, they chose to turn me away, even though I had been with them for many years. There is a lot of blame to go around there. Had they written the HIPAA rules to include private policies and not just group policies through employers, then they could not have turned me away.
But that gets to another point. The insurance companies will not do anything to help make things better without laws forcing them to do so. Why do you think we have the HIPAA laws? So anyone that tries to scare me off with government death panels is barking up the wrong tree. I know the insurance companies will screw anyone they can if they become a risk. The government might put limitations on certain things if they are in charge, due to cost, but they are not nearly as likely to tell me that they don't want me because I might cost them too much.
Anyway, I find myself going back and forth on this. I do support more government involvement, although I'm not certain having them run the whole show is in our best interest, at least from a cost standpoint. However, leaving things as they are is not an option from a cost standpoint either.
