From what the President has said so far, I agree with his plans. Remove barriers for purchasing insurance across state lines to encourage competition. Enhance and make health savings accounts more readily available. Those two things alone would drive the cost down.
Quote:That's before he realized how complicated it is. Don't you know Paul Ryan cries himself to sleep every night, murmuring "this is who I have to work with to get a new health care bill?"
I expect very vague generalities in the speech tonight. Donald is not exactly a policy wonk. Then I expect him to start backing away from what he said on the campaign trail.
What exactly has given you the idea he will back away from anything he said on the campaign trail?
https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=...bmode=list
Quote:From what the President has said so far, I agree with his plans. Remove barriers for purchasing insurance across state lines to encourage competition. Enhance and make health savings accounts more readily available. Those two things alone would drive the cost down.
It won't increase competition.
<a class="bbc_url" href='https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2016/10/10/sorry-trump-selling-health-insurance-across-state-lines-wouldnt-lower-costs/amp/'>https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2016/10/10/sorry-trump-selling-health-insurance-across-state-lines-wouldnt-lower-costs/amp/</a>
Quote:From what the President has said so far, I agree with his plans. Remove barriers for purchasing insurance across state lines to encourage competition. Enhance and make health savings accounts more readily available. Those two things alone would drive the cost down.
Health savings accounts are great. For the wealthy and upper middle class. Very large portions of this country live paycheck to paycheck.
Quote:Health savings accounts are great. For the wealthy and upper middle class. Very large portions of this country live paycheck to paycheck.
Everyone in here is a CEO didn't you get the memo?
This is my first year doing an HSA. I think it is great, especially when my premiums are dirt cheap, but........ if someone has a HDHP and has a catastrophic event before being able to accumulate enough in their HSA to cover their deductible, then I can see that as a pretty serious problem.
If you are lucky enough to actually be able to accumulate a decent sized medical nest egg in your HSA while avoiding a catastrophic event, then they are awesome.
I only know what my company does as far as HSA's, but do any companies out there do contribution matching for HSA's? That seems like a good idea, but they would obviously need to raise the contribution limits if that were to happen.
Quote:Everyone in here is a CEO didn't you get the memo?
My HSA runs me $80 a pay period in premiums and I contribute an additional $150 per pay period. The $460 a month is much better than the $600 premium for my old plan that still had a $3500 deductible.
There are many healthcare systems that work quite well in the world. Maybe following one of those instead of repackaging the same failed format?
Quote:There are many healthcare systems that work quite well in the world. Maybe following one of those instead of repackaging the same failed format?
Healthcare is like any other industry. The way you lower costs is simple. Competition. Since there appears to be no way to cut out the middle man, the next best alternative is more companies fighting for someones business.
Actually isn't the British system the cheapest out of the major western countries? Not much competition there
Quote:It won't increase competition.
<a class="bbc_url" href='https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2016/10/10/sorry-trump-selling-health-insurance-across-state-lines-wouldnt-lower-costs/amp/'>https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2016/10/10/sorry-trump-selling-health-insurance-across-state-lines-wouldnt-lower-costs/amp/</a>
Your link is useless in my browser. I refuse to disable my Ad-block software.
Quote:Health savings accounts are great. For the wealthy and upper middle class. Very large portions of this country live paycheck to paycheck.
They are great for every day Americans. The thing is, it's up to individuals to actually SAVE their money for routine health care expenses.
Here's something to think about, and think about it honestly. Why do so many people live "paycheck-to-paycheck"? Just a hunch, but I would bet that a vast majority of them do so because of their own spending habits. I would guess that these "poor" people have smart phones, cable television, gaming consoles, etc. that aren't necessary. My guess is that they probably have tablets, the latest laptops and high speed internet in order to access services like Netflix or Hulu. People don't budget their money properly and have to have the "latest" regarding technology, clothing, vehicles, etc.
Health care expense isn't even in their budget.
Quote:This is my first year doing an HSA. I think it is great, especially when my premiums are dirt cheap, but........ if someone has a HDHP and has a catastrophic event before being able to accumulate enough in their HSA to cover their deductible, then I can see that as a pretty serious problem.
If you are lucky enough to actually be able to accumulate a decent sized medical nest egg in your HSA while avoiding a catastrophic event, then they are awesome.
I only know what my company does as far as HSA's, but do any companies out there do contribution matching for HSA's? That seems like a good idea, but they would obviously need to raise the contribution limits if that were to happen.
Company contributions would just be another negotiating tool between an employer and an employee, just like contributions to a 401k. The contribution limit does need to be increased.
Quote:There are many healthcare systems that work quite well in the world. Maybe following one of those instead of repackaging the same failed format?
The problem is, they don't compare to the health care available here.
FACT - I was in Scotland a while back and met a nice young woman. The one thing that she raved about as far as the U.S. was our superior healthcare system.
Quote:I heard something about giving credits to individuals to purchase a plan based on age instead of income. Seems really dumb that a 70 year old millionaire could qualify for the same credit as a 70 year old man who collects maybe 20k or less in social security. What is wrong with this country?
<a class="bbc_url" href='http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/02/24/517074764/gop-health-bill-draft-would-cut-medicaid-emphasize-tax-credits'>http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/02/24/517074764/gop-health-bill-draft-would-cut-medicaid-emphasize-tax-credits</a>
Yes, from each according to his ability and to each according to his need. That's the cure for what made this country great!
Quote:Your link is useless in my browser. I refuse to disable my Ad-block software.
They are great for every day Americans. The thing is, it's up to individuals to actually SAVE their money for routine health care expenses.
Here's something to think about, and think about it honestly. Why do so many people live "paycheck-to-paycheck"? Just a hunch, but I would bet that a vast majority of them do so because of their own spending habits. I would guess that these "poor" people have smart phones, cable television, gaming consoles, etc. that aren't necessary. My guess is that they probably have tablets, the latest laptops and high speed internet in order to access services like Netflix or Hulu. People don't budget their money properly and have to have the "latest" regarding technology, clothing, vehicles, etc.
Health care expense isn't even in their budget.
The crux of the matter as far as I'm concerned, culturally we are an irresponsible society. Then when something bad happens too many people put their hand out expecting other people to solve their problem or finance their solution. We eat poorly then [BLEEP] that healthcare is expensive. We don't exercise and then [BLEEP] that healthcare is expensive. We take tons of tax money and throw it down the hole of keeping alive people who, by right, should die from the consequences of their own bad decisions and then we [BLEEP] about how much healthcare costs. Life is hard and it's not fair. This practice we have of shielding people from the consequences of their actions does us no good, it only exacerbates the problem without offering anything more than a band aid for the root cause.
Quote:Healthcare is like any other industry. The way you lower costs is simple. Competition. Since there appears to be no way to cut out the middle man, the next best alternative is more companies fighting for someones business.
No, this is simply not true.
Quote:No, this is simply not true.
How is this not true? If Wal-Mart was the only store that sold household goods, would the prices be like they are?
Quote:How is this not true? If Wal-Mart was the only store that sold household goods, would the prices be like they are?
How dare you insinuate that something as simple as the free market could better manage the limited resources of our world than our governmental superiors.
Quote:How dare you insinuate that something as simple as the free market could better manage the limited resources of our world than our governmental superiors.
Looking forward to his answer explaining how this isn't the solution. Hoping to learn something new.
Quote:The problem is, they don't compare to the health care available here.
FACT - I was in Scotland a while back and met a nice young woman. The one thing that she raved about as far as the U.S. was our superior healthcare system.
She must have been polite. I have never met a Brit desire the US system. In fact it usually used as a scare story when discussing creeping privatisation. My dad has had a couple of bouts of cancer both caught early (much better primary care) no doubt he would be in dire financial straits or not with us in your system.