Private Health Care: Projected costs

[Vast LWC]

Many people may be satisfied with their healthcare, now, but here are some interesting figures:

"Milliman Inc., an employee benefits consulting firm, publishes annually its Milliman Medical Index on the total health spending by or for a typical American family of four with private health insurance. The index totals the family's out-of-pocket spending for health care plus the contribution employers and employees make to that family's job-related health insurance coverage.

Since 2005, the index has grown at an average annual compound rate of 8.4 percent. Suppose we make it 8 percent for the coming decade. Then today's $16,700 will have grown to slightly over $36,000 by 2019.

Economists are convinced that this $36,000 would come virtually all out of the financial hides of employees, even if the employer pretended to be paying, say, 80 percent of the employment-based health insurance premiums."

Source for statistics:

http://www.milliman.com/expertise/he...index-2009.pdf

Source for analysis:

Commentary: Frightening future if health reform fails - CNN.com

Now I don't know about you, but I don't think I can afford $36,000 dollars a year in health care costs...

 

[Vast LWC]

This amount is so high, in fact that I'm thinking the vast majority of people will have trouble with it.

And that's just 10 years away.

Of course, all the seniors and near seniors that have been invading town halls recently are already on or will soon be on Medicare. So why should they care about their children and grandchildren, right?

 

[Vast LWC]

Hey, here's a thought. Since seniors seem to be so set against government run health care, we can do this:

Let's sell off Medicare to private insurers.

We'll give them all the funds that have been gathered so far by Medicare, including interest, and say they have to cover up to such and such amount per person, based on those funds.

Any amount above that, they can charge what ever they deem necessary.

Then let's see how much Seniors really want private insurance.