Fear of Lawsuits Is Not Why We Spend So Much On Health Care

[ashling]

http://prospect.org/article/fear-lawsuits-not-why-we-spend-so-much-health-care

When you ask Republicans what they'd like to do to reform American health care, the first thing out of their mouths is usually "tort reform." But the fact that all the evidence suggests it would do nothing to cut costs is probably not going to dent their commitment to laws limiting people's ability to sue for malpractice. That's because the truth is that conservatives see this as a moral question as much as a fiscal one. "Frivolous lawsuits" make them livid, and as far as they're concerned a frivolous lawsuit getting filed (even if it never goes anywhere) is a greater outrage than someone who was victimized not being able to get compensation. So the facts aren't going to help much.

[elleng]

1. Right, its lack of competition.

[Louisiana1976]

2. Our current healthcare system is greed-based. That's why medical care costs so much. We need single

payer.

[meow2u3]

3. Some (corrupt) doctors have stock in companies

that make the screening machines, e.g., CAT scans, MRI machines, etc. So there's an awful lot of what's called "physician self-referral", or doctors ordering expensive tests to fatten their bank accounts.

In other words, corruption is a prime reason for our inflated health care bills.

[unblock]

4. republicans do *not* object to frivolous lawsuits, they love them and file them all the time.

they just like using a few stray outrages to their advantage, to try to further limit the ability of the powerless to challenge the power of powerful.

rich people and businesses love frivolous lawsuits because it's a way for them to exert power. to them, it's a bit of money (which they can easily spare) and not much of their own time (because they have lawyers and staff for that). for the people they challenge, it could suck up years of their life and most of their life savings, so often they just give up and do whatever it is that the powerful guy wanted them to do.

they can get former employees to sign agreements not to sue or to even tell anyone their story; they can get small competitors to change their company name or close up shop entirely; they can weasel out of a hard cold contract with a supplier or a partner, etc.


it's *not* a matter of morality for them. you will *never* hear a republican whine and complain about a rich and powerful company filing a ridiculous lawsuit. *that* they will tell you, is "freedom".

[woo me with science]

5. Corporate health insurance vultures play the role of profit-sucking/skimming middlemen

in a system that is designed specifically not just to enable, but to mandate, the skimming.

As bvar22 explained so clearly,

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023701011#post19
..about 15% (really more) of OUR money goes into the pockets of Private For Profit Corporations. That is 15% Off the Top that does NOT go toward Health Care for Americans, but instead goes to an Industry that:

*Manufactures NOTHING

*Provides NO Useful Service

*Creates NO Value Added Wealth

*Keeps no inventory


A Great Scam, if you can get the government to guarantee your "customers".
....
The RIGHT of the Health Insurance Industry to make a PROFIT shall not be infringed

This issue is propagandized separately by corporatists to their deliberately divided Red and Blue teams. It was perhaps the greatest propaganda scam in recent memory that they succeeded in painting a government mandate to buy exorbitantly priced insurance as "socialistic."



.

[whatthehey]

6. Insurance companies do have one good service

They negotiate prices. If you showed up at a hospital and said "I'll pay for surgery on my cervical vertebrae" you'd get a bill for, in my case, $31000. Simply having BCBS as a middleman made it $13000. Could I have negotiated a discount? Probably, but not a 60%+ one as I don't have Blue Cross' leverage, and that's not an option for someone suffering a sudden onset issue. Negotiating after the fact is a unilateral power scenario.

Insurance companies are swingeing money grubbing shysters it's true. But so are providers, and you're better off letting the big dog shysters battle it out than trying to get into that dogfight with no teeth or claws yourself. If I win that Megamillions jackpot tonight, my first action will be to quit working. My second will be to hit the exchange for a platinum plan not because I want to enrich insurers but because I want, and without that jackpot flat out need, their price list.

[woo me with science]

7. BWAH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

I hope you're not offended, but that despairing laughter was genuine, not just pixels. Thank you for giving me a STELLAR rationalization of predatory corporatism to end my day with.

Even though they are "money-grubbing shysters," dammit, we should be grateful because they protect us from money grubbing DOCTORS!!!!1!

I love it. A Third Way-style "Lesser of Two Evils" argument even for health insurance vultures!

Yeah, best to be grateful for the THIRD WAY, because the Lord and Humana both know that no other country has figured out how to provide care to their citizens without mandating double-digit corporate profit-skimming that drives millions into desperation or even bankruptcy.

You'll have to excuse my particular vehemence here today. I just got shown a notice from another ACA health insurance plan, which started in May of last year. They are jacking up the rates of the victim,....er, client...by 20 percent starting in January - the maximum allowed under the comically, ironically, even mockingly named "Affordable" Care Act.

Actually, it's 19.67 percent, to be exact. I did the math. And they didn't even give this poor sap an entire year at the old rate before jacking it up. For the record, this rate hike will almost certainly force the victim to switch to a lower-tier plan with higher deductibles.

And what an amazing coincidence, that the rate hike determined to be justified (Remember, the ACA doesn't even require the company vultures to justify a hike until it goes over *ten* percent. When was the last time your salary increased by even half that much?) .....the rate hike determined to be justified just *happens* to round up to the ACA-enshrined maximum!

But, hell.....We're still better than North Korea, right?! It could be worse!

http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/health/2014/03/26/medical-bankruptcy/

56M Americans under age 65 will have trouble paying medical bills.

Over 35 MILLION American adults (ages 19-64) will be contacted by collections agencies for unpaid medical bills.

Nearly 17 MILLION American adults (ages 19-64) will receive a lower credit rating on account of their high medical bills.

Over 15 MILLION American adults (ages 19-64) will use up all their savings to pay medical bills.

Over 11 MILLION American adults (ages 19-64) will take on credit card debt to pay off their hospital bills.

Nearly 10 MILLION American adults (ages 19-64) will be unable to pay for basic necessities like rent, food, and heat due to their medical bills.

Over 16 MILLION children live in households struggling with medical bills.

Despite having year-round insurance coverage, 10 MILLION insured Americans ages 19-64 will face bills they are unable to pay.

1.7 MILLION Americans live in households that will declare bankruptcy due to their inability to pay their medical bills.

Three states will account for over one-quarter of those living in medical-related bankruptcy: California (248,002), Illinois (113,524), and Florida (99,780).

To save costs, over 25 MILLION adults (ages 19-64) will not take their prescription drugs as indicated, including skipping doses, taking less medicine than prescribed or delaying a refill.

[MisterP]

8. aren't the Pubs the ones who think PBS takes up 35-50% of the budget?