Should Billionaires Even Exist?

[Ray From Cleveland]

What bad things did Democrats cast upon you?

So in 2006, I had a great private insurance policy, that was $67 a month, and covered everything I needed.

By 2010, to this day, no such plans exist. The cheapest plan that is available at all, is $350/month, and that's with a lower max cap, and a higher deductible, than my $67/month plan back in 2006. Obama wrecked all of it.

Healthcare costs started skyrocketing long before 2010. Increases were inevitable.

and why do you think that happened? any idea?

it started when people assumed that their insurance should pay for all medical expenses. So the medical providers could raise prices since the insurers would just pay up and raise premiums on the people.

same reason that college tuition went up when the government started guaranteeing student loans of any amount.

Its not complicated if you actually think about it for a few seconds.

Actually, the government underpays doctors and hospitals for their patients. Some are actually refusing new Medicare and Medicaid patients. The increases by the providers are because of government. If the government only pays 2/3 of the bill for a doctors visit, no big deal, but on a 500K surgery? That's a problem. They have to recoup that money somehow.

That's why when a provider closes down, it's usually in lower income areas where there are few private and insurance paying customers. It's mostly government covered customers.

Since insurance companies own or derive profit from 95% of providers and hospitals in the US, isn't it the insurance companies themselves refusing to accept government assignment?

I don't understand the question. If you are on Medicare or Medicaid, those are government programs and have nothing to do with insurance companies, although, when I was working in medical, the government did hire Prudential to do some of their billing for them.

 

[OnePercenter]

No. Just vote Republican. Good things happen when ya do.

Well, I can say for certain, that if you vote Democrat, bad things will happen to you. Bad things happened to me, thanks to democrats.

What bad things did Democrats cast upon you?

So in 2006, I had a great private insurance policy, that was $67 a month, and covered everything I needed.

By 2010, to this day, no such plans exist. The cheapest plan that is available at all, is $350/month, and that's with a lower max cap, and a higher deductible, than my $67/month plan back in 2006. Obama wrecked all of it.

Healthcare costs started skyrocketing long before 2010. Increases were inevitable.

So lets review. I paid $67 a month, for a very good insurance policy. It had lower deductibles, and higher max lifetime cap.

Saying that healthcare cost were skyrocketing before hand, doesn't mean much, if they were still dramatically cheaper than today. And the research shows this.

See the problem? The cost of healthcare by most estimates quadrupled in 10 years.

The average individual insurance premium went from $160 to $400 in 10 years.

Would you claim the that in 1998 that the premium was barely $50? Of course not.

The average insurance deductible $2084 to $4328 in 10 years.

Do you think that the average deductible in 1998 was under $1,000?

By that logic, in the 1980s, health insurance should have been barely $20 a month for a $200 deductible.

Of course not. Insurance costs have dramatically increased under Obama care.

Insurance costs were not going insane prior to Obama care. They simply were not. It was fabricated by the left, as an excuse to socialize the system, and make people dependent on government. And it worked.

But it did not make anything any better. It made every aspect of the system worse.

Your chart show a dramatic increase after the (bushco) biggest economic crash since the great depression.

Before the HMO Act deregulation, I paid $75.00/mo per employee with almost zero out-of-pocket for the employee. After the industry was deregulated and the profiteers took over, well, you know the rest of the story.

 

[dblack]

Billionaires wield a lot of economic power. Congress wants that power. Should we give it to them?

 

[OnePercenter]

I don't necessarily believe that being a billionaire should be illegal but I personally would not be comfortable having that much money and I also personally believe that simple living is more in line with my own moral, ethical, and religious beliefs than having all the money in the world.

It is not HAVING the money. It is the EARNING that is fun. If one is the type able to do it in the first place.

Yes, people who end up being millionaires and billionaires have a different mindset that's for sure.

Yes. Some people forget that they create JOBS.

The government creates jobs.

 

[OnePercenter]

Billionaires wield a lot of economic power. Congress wants that power. Should we give it to them?

Sure, as long as we have and enforce regulations to curtail profiteering and greed. Billionaires can't be trusted, I should know.

 

[OnePercenter]

So in 2006, I had a great private insurance policy, that was $67 a month, and covered everything I needed.

By 2010, to this day, no such plans exist. The cheapest plan that is available at all, is $350/month, and that's with a lower max cap, and a higher deductible, than my $67/month plan back in 2006. Obama wrecked all of it.

Healthcare costs started skyrocketing long before 2010. Increases were inevitable.

and why do you think that happened? any idea?

it started when people assumed that their insurance should pay for all medical expenses. So the medical providers could raise prices since the insurers would just pay up and raise premiums on the people.

same reason that college tuition went up when the government started guaranteeing student loans of any amount.

Its not complicated if you actually think about it for a few seconds.

Actually, the government underpays doctors and hospitals for their patients. Some are actually refusing new Medicare and Medicaid patients. The increases by the providers are because of government. If the government only pays 2/3 of the bill for a doctors visit, no big deal, but on a 500K surgery? That's a problem. They have to recoup that money somehow.

That's why when a provider closes down, it's usually in lower income areas where there are few private and insurance paying customers. It's mostly government covered customers.

Since insurance companies own or derive profit from 95% of providers and hospitals in the US, isn't it the insurance companies themselves refusing to accept government assignment?

I don't understand the question. If you are on Medicare or Medicaid, those are government programs and have nothing to do with insurance companies, although, when I was working in medical, the government did hire Prudential to do some of their billing for them.

Medicare pays insurance companies, but according to insurance companies they don't pay enough, so insurance companies have products that you can buy. Pretty sweet for the insurance companies.

 

[dblack]

Billionaires wield a lot of economic power. Congress wants that power. Should we give it to them?

Sure, as long as we have and enforce regulations to curtail profiteering and greed. Billionaires can't be trusted, I should know.

Congress on the other hand ...

yeahrightsure

 

[Andylusion]

Healthcare costs started skyrocketing long before 2010. Increases were inevitable.

and why do you think that happened? any idea?

it started when people assumed that their insurance should pay for all medical expenses. So the medical providers could raise prices since the insurers would just pay up and raise premiums on the people.

same reason that college tuition went up when the government started guaranteeing student loans of any amount.

Its not complicated if you actually think about it for a few seconds.

Actually, the government underpays doctors and hospitals for their patients. Some are actually refusing new Medicare and Medicaid patients. The increases by the providers are because of government. If the government only pays 2/3 of the bill for a doctors visit, no big deal, but on a 500K surgery? That's a problem. They have to recoup that money somehow.

That's why when a provider closes down, it's usually in lower income areas where there are few private and insurance paying customers. It's mostly government covered customers.

Since insurance companies own or derive profit from 95% of providers and hospitals in the US, isn't it the insurance companies themselves refusing to accept government assignment?

I don't understand the question. If you are on Medicare or Medicaid, those are government programs and have nothing to do with insurance companies, although, when I was working in medical, the government did hire Prudential to do some of their billing for them.

Medicare pays insurance companies, but according to insurance companies they don't pay enough, so insurance companies have products that you can buy. Pretty sweet for the insurance companies.

I have never heard an insurance company say Medicare doesn't pay enough.

I have heard that doctors, hospitals, clinics, and other health care providers say it doesn't pay enough, because it doesn't. Medicare by design pays much less money, than how much it costs to provide the service.

But that does not directly effect insurance companies. Not at all. Insurance companies are paid a flat fee for processing medicare and medicaid payments.

Now it does indirectly affect insurance companies, because the hospitals have to charge higher prices to private patients, to make up for the loss on government patients, and the insurance companies get the bill, which is then passed on in higher premiums to private patients.

Do you have a link to insurance companies saying that Medicare processing fees are too small?

 

[Ray From Cleveland]

Healthcare costs started skyrocketing long before 2010. Increases were inevitable.

and why do you think that happened? any idea?

it started when people assumed that their insurance should pay for all medical expenses. So the medical providers could raise prices since the insurers would just pay up and raise premiums on the people.

same reason that college tuition went up when the government started guaranteeing student loans of any amount.

Its not complicated if you actually think about it for a few seconds.

Actually, the government underpays doctors and hospitals for their patients. Some are actually refusing new Medicare and Medicaid patients. The increases by the providers are because of government. If the government only pays 2/3 of the bill for a doctors visit, no big deal, but on a 500K surgery? That's a problem. They have to recoup that money somehow.

That's why when a provider closes down, it's usually in lower income areas where there are few private and insurance paying customers. It's mostly government covered customers.

Since insurance companies own or derive profit from 95% of providers and hospitals in the US, isn't it the insurance companies themselves refusing to accept government assignment?

I don't understand the question. If you are on Medicare or Medicaid, those are government programs and have nothing to do with insurance companies, although, when I was working in medical, the government did hire Prudential to do some of their billing for them.

Medicare pays insurance companies, but according to insurance companies they don't pay enough, so insurance companies have products that you can buy. Pretty sweet for the insurance companies.

No, Medicare pays the provider just like the insurance companies do. Why would Medicare pay an insurance company--for what?

 

[Andylusion]

Billionaires wield a lot of economic power. Congress wants that power. Should we give it to them?

Sure, as long as we have and enforce regulations to curtail profiteering and greed. Billionaires can't be trusted, I should know.

Impossible. The more you put in place regulations that hold back profits, the more value there is in getting an exception.

Again, as long as government is handing out money, there will be those willing to spend massive amounts of money to influence those handouts.

The more government you have, the more people will want to influence it.



It's a historic, and current day fact.

 

[Andylusion]

and why do you think that happened? any idea?

it started when people assumed that their insurance should pay for all medical expenses. So the medical providers could raise prices since the insurers would just pay up and raise premiums on the people.

same reason that college tuition went up when the government started guaranteeing student loans of any amount.

Its not complicated if you actually think about it for a few seconds.

Actually, the government underpays doctors and hospitals for their patients. Some are actually refusing new Medicare and Medicaid patients. The increases by the providers are because of government. If the government only pays 2/3 of the bill for a doctors visit, no big deal, but on a 500K surgery? That's a problem. They have to recoup that money somehow.

That's why when a provider closes down, it's usually in lower income areas where there are few private and insurance paying customers. It's mostly government covered customers.

Since insurance companies own or derive profit from 95% of providers and hospitals in the US, isn't it the insurance companies themselves refusing to accept government assignment?

I don't understand the question. If you are on Medicare or Medicaid, those are government programs and have nothing to do with insurance companies, although, when I was working in medical, the government did hire Prudential to do some of their billing for them.

Medicare pays insurance companies, but according to insurance companies they don't pay enough, so insurance companies have products that you can buy. Pretty sweet for the insurance companies.

No, Medicare pays the provider just like the insurance companies do. Why would Medicare pay an insurance company--for what?

I think medicare is processed through insurance companies. I believe they are paid a processing fee. I can only assume that is what he means..... or he's nuts... not sure.

 

[dblack]

Actually, the government underpays doctors and hospitals for their patients. Some are actually refusing new Medicare and Medicaid patients. The increases by the providers are because of government. If the government only pays 2/3 of the bill for a doctors visit, no big deal, but on a 500K surgery? That's a problem. They have to recoup that money somehow.

That's why when a provider closes down, it's usually in lower income areas where there are few private and insurance paying customers. It's mostly government covered customers.

Since insurance companies own or derive profit from 95% of providers and hospitals in the US, isn't it the insurance companies themselves refusing to accept government assignment?

I don't understand the question. If you are on Medicare or Medicaid, those are government programs and have nothing to do with insurance companies, although, when I was working in medical, the government did hire Prudential to do some of their billing for them.

Medicare pays insurance companies, but according to insurance companies they don't pay enough, so insurance companies have products that you can buy. Pretty sweet for the insurance companies.

No, Medicare pays the provider just like the insurance companies do. Why would Medicare pay an insurance company--for what?

I think medicare is processed through insurance companies. I believe they are paid a processing fee. I can only assume that is what he means..... or he's nuts... not sure.

That's exactly right. Medicare farms it out to private contractors - often subsidiary arms of the same insurance companies that sell to employers. That's why it seems funny that liberals tell themselves Welfare for All will do away with insurance companies. It won't. It will merely set them up in permanent rent-seeking roles.

 

[SweetTea]

The government creates jobs.

Talk about robbing Peter to pay Paul.

 

[Ray From Cleveland]

Actually, the government underpays doctors and hospitals for their patients. Some are actually refusing new Medicare and Medicaid patients. The increases by the providers are because of government. If the government only pays 2/3 of the bill for a doctors visit, no big deal, but on a 500K surgery? That's a problem. They have to recoup that money somehow.

That's why when a provider closes down, it's usually in lower income areas where there are few private and insurance paying customers. It's mostly government covered customers.

Since insurance companies own or derive profit from 95% of providers and hospitals in the US, isn't it the insurance companies themselves refusing to accept government assignment?

I don't understand the question. If you are on Medicare or Medicaid, those are government programs and have nothing to do with insurance companies, although, when I was working in medical, the government did hire Prudential to do some of their billing for them.

Medicare pays insurance companies, but according to insurance companies they don't pay enough, so insurance companies have products that you can buy. Pretty sweet for the insurance companies.

No, Medicare pays the provider just like the insurance companies do. Why would Medicare pay an insurance company--for what?

I think medicare is processed through insurance companies. I believe they are paid a processing fee. I can only assume that is what he means..... or he's nuts... not sure.

I thought he was talking about reimbursements back to the providers. Now I got it. Yeah, when I left medical over 30 years ago, that's when they started using private insurance for billing, although I don't know what the deal was or how much they were paid. But unlike government, insurance companies have people that detect fraud, and that probably saved our government tons of money in that regard.

 

[dblack]

The government creates jobs.

Talk about robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Well, paying Paul after taking their cut. The "house" always wins.

 

[Brain357]

No. Just vote Republican. Good things happen when ya do.

Well, I can say for certain, that if you vote Democrat, bad things will happen to you. Bad things happened to me, thanks to democrats.

What bad things did Democrats cast upon you?

So in 2006, I had a great private insurance policy, that was $67 a month, and covered everything I needed.

By 2010, to this day, no such plans exist. The cheapest plan that is available at all, is $350/month, and that's with a lower max cap, and a higher deductible, than my $67/month plan back in 2006. Obama wrecked all of it.

Healthcare costs started skyrocketing long before 2010. Increases were inevitable.

So lets review. I paid $67 a month, for a very good insurance policy. It had lower deductibles, and higher max lifetime cap.

Saying that healthcare cost were skyrocketing before hand, doesn't mean much, if they were still dramatically cheaper than today. And the research shows this.

See the problem? The cost of healthcare by most estimates quadrupled in 10 years.

The average individual insurance premium went from $160 to $400 in 10 years.

Would you claim the that in 1998 that the premium was barely $50? Of course not.

The average insurance deductible $2084 to $4328 in 10 years.

Do you think that the average deductible in 1998 was under $1,000?

By that logic, in the 1980s, health insurance should have been barely $20 a month for a $200 deductible.

Of course not. Insurance costs have dramatically increased under Obama care.

Insurance costs were not going insane prior to Obama care. They simply were not. It was fabricated by the left, as an excuse to socialize the system, and make people dependent on government. And it worked.

But it did not make anything any better. It made every aspect of the system worse.

It has been increasing for a very long time, sorry to burst your bubble.

See for Yourself If Obamacare Increased Health Care Costs
In 2017, U.S. health care costs were $3.5 trillion. That makes health care one of the country's largest industries. It equals 17.9% of gross domestic product. In comparison, health care cost $27.2 billion in 1960, just 5% of GDP. That translates to an annual health care cost of $10,739 per person in 2017 versus just $146 per person in 1960. Health care costs have risen faster than the average annual income.1 Health care consumed 4% of income in 1960 compared to 6% in 2013.

 

[Andylusion]

Well, I can say for certain, that if you vote Democrat, bad things will happen to you. Bad things happened to me, thanks to democrats.

What bad things did Democrats cast upon you?

So in 2006, I had a great private insurance policy, that was $67 a month, and covered everything I needed.

By 2010, to this day, no such plans exist. The cheapest plan that is available at all, is $350/month, and that's with a lower max cap, and a higher deductible, than my $67/month plan back in 2006. Obama wrecked all of it.

Healthcare costs started skyrocketing long before 2010. Increases were inevitable.

So lets review. I paid $67 a month, for a very good insurance policy. It had lower deductibles, and higher max lifetime cap.

Saying that healthcare cost were skyrocketing before hand, doesn't mean much, if they were still dramatically cheaper than today. And the research shows this.

See the problem? The cost of healthcare by most estimates quadrupled in 10 years.

The average individual insurance premium went from $160 to $400 in 10 years.

Would you claim the that in 1998 that the premium was barely $50? Of course not.

The average insurance deductible $2084 to $4328 in 10 years.

Do you think that the average deductible in 1998 was under $1,000?

By that logic, in the 1980s, health insurance should have been barely $20 a month for a $200 deductible.

Of course not. Insurance costs have dramatically increased under Obama care.

Insurance costs were not going insane prior to Obama care. They simply were not. It was fabricated by the left, as an excuse to socialize the system, and make people dependent on government. And it worked.

But it did not make anything any better. It made every aspect of the system worse.

It has been increasing for a very long time, sorry to burst your bubble.

See for Yourself If Obamacare Increased Health Care Costs
In 2017, U.S. health care costs were $3.5 trillion. That makes health care one of the country's largest industries. It equals 17.9% of gross domestic product. In comparison, health care cost $27.2 billion in 1960, just 5% of GDP. That translates to an annual health care cost of $10,739 per person in 2017 versus just $146 per person in 1960. Health care costs have risen faster than the average annual income.1 Health care consumed 4% of income in 1960 compared to 6% in 2013.

Comparing this to the 1960s is absolute idiocy. Do you know what the treatment for a heart attack was in the 1960s?

Aspirin. It wasn't even until the 1970s that they even used a stint, to prop open a blocked artery. In the 1960s, it was common, even normal, for people to simply die if they had a heart attack.

Left-winger "we have treatments now that work, and now health care costs more than when we had no treatments! That's unfair!"

Think. Use your brain.

Treatment costs money. Regulations cost money too. Your article fails to admit that. High regulations on health care, has clearly been a contributing factor on the higher cost of care.

Lastly, Medicare and Medicaid itself, have dramatically driven up costs.

 

[San Souci]

Well, I can say for certain, that if you vote Democrat, bad things will happen to you. Bad things happened to me, thanks to democrats.

What bad things did Democrats cast upon you?

So in 2006, I had a great private insurance policy, that was $67 a month, and covered everything I needed.

By 2010, to this day, no such plans exist. The cheapest plan that is available at all, is $350/month, and that's with a lower max cap, and a higher deductible, than my $67/month plan back in 2006. Obama wrecked all of it.

Healthcare costs started skyrocketing long before 2010. Increases were inevitable.

So lets review. I paid $67 a month, for a very good insurance policy. It had lower deductibles, and higher max lifetime cap.

Saying that healthcare cost were skyrocketing before hand, doesn't mean much, if they were still dramatically cheaper than today. And the research shows this.

See the problem? The cost of healthcare by most estimates quadrupled in 10 years.

The average individual insurance premium went from $160 to $400 in 10 years.

Would you claim the that in 1998 that the premium was barely $50? Of course not.

The average insurance deductible $2084 to $4328 in 10 years.

Do you think that the average deductible in 1998 was under $1,000?

By that logic, in the 1980s, health insurance should have been barely $20 a month for a $200 deductible.

Of course not. Insurance costs have dramatically increased under Obama care.

Insurance costs were not going insane prior to Obama care. They simply were not. It was fabricated by the left, as an excuse to socialize the system, and make people dependent on government. And it worked.

But it did not make anything any better. It made every aspect of the system worse.

It has been increasing for a very long time, sorry to burst your bubble.

See for Yourself If Obamacare Increased Health Care Costs
In 2017, U.S. health care costs were $3.5 trillion. That makes health care one of the country's largest industries. It equals 17.9% of gross domestic product. In comparison, health care cost $27.2 billion in 1960, just 5% of GDP. That translates to an annual health care cost of $10,739 per person in 2017 versus just $146 per person in 1960. Health care costs have risen faster than the average annual income.1 Health care consumed 4% of income in 1960 compared to 6% in 2013.

Got a solution?

 

[Ken Mac]

Well, I can say for certain, that if you vote Democrat, bad things will happen to you. Bad things happened to me, thanks to democrats.

What bad things did Democrats cast upon you?

So in 2006, I had a great private insurance policy, that was $67 a month, and covered everything I needed.

By 2010, to this day, no such plans exist. The cheapest plan that is available at all, is $350/month, and that's with a lower max cap, and a higher deductible, than my $67/month plan back in 2006. Obama wrecked all of it.

Healthcare costs started skyrocketing long before 2010. Increases were inevitable.

So lets review. I paid $67 a month, for a very good insurance policy. It had lower deductibles, and higher max lifetime cap.

Saying that healthcare cost were skyrocketing before hand, doesn't mean much, if they were still dramatically cheaper than today. And the research shows this.

See the problem? The cost of healthcare by most estimates quadrupled in 10 years.

The average individual insurance premium went from $160 to $400 in 10 years.

Would you claim the that in 1998 that the premium was barely $50? Of course not.

The average insurance deductible $2084 to $4328 in 10 years.

Do you think that the average deductible in 1998 was under $1,000?

By that logic, in the 1980s, health insurance should have been barely $20 a month for a $200 deductible.

Of course not. Insurance costs have dramatically increased under Obama care.

Insurance costs were not going insane prior to Obama care. They simply were not. It was fabricated by the left, as an excuse to socialize the system, and make people dependent on government. And it worked.

But it did not make anything any better. It made every aspect of the system worse.

It has been increasing for a very long time, sorry to burst your bubble.

See for Yourself If Obamacare Increased Health Care Costs
In 2017, U.S. health care costs were $3.5 trillion. That makes health care one of the country's largest industries. It equals 17.9% of gross domestic product. In comparison, health care cost $27.2 billion in 1960, just 5% of GDP. That translates to an annual health care cost of $10,739 per person in 2017 versus just $146 per person in 1960. Health care costs have risen faster than the average annual income.1 Health care consumed 4% of income in 1960 compared to 6% in 2013.

We're living a lot longer. And I don't mean like 2-3 years since 1960. More like 15 years. And the boomer generation which is huge is aging and it is a huge generation of people. So yeah, more health care is needed. That doesn't mean these are the only reasons for it going up and being a greater portion of the GDP but it's a very large chunk of it.

 

[Ken Mac]

I don't necessarily believe that being a billionaire should be illegal but I personally would not be comfortable having that much money and I also personally believe that simple living is more in line with my own moral, ethical, and religious beliefs than having all the money in the world.

It is not HAVING the money. It is the EARNING that is fun. If one is the type able to do it in the first place.

Yes, people who end up being millionaires and billionaires have a different mindset that's for sure.

Yes. Some people forget that they create JOBS.

The government creates jobs.

The government creates nothing. It produces nothing and creates nothing. It expands and spends more money thereby needing to fill more seats as it get more and more bloated with more and more programs.

The government is a tax on our Products and Services (GDP) the private sector produces.

The government is blood sucking overhead and the larger it gets, the less competitive we are in the global market.