exmate's Comments (378)

““We can continue pussyfooting around with the private for profit health care insurance companies for the next 100 years and things will be no better.. It is like talking to Osama Bin Laden. They need to be either made to be not for profit or they need to be nationalized and run like Medicare. That might sound like socialized Medicine (which works very well BTW in Scandanavia and on the European continent but what we have here is fascist medicine.

From an economics point of view, as far as free enterprise producing a better product, they are the exception that proves the rule.

From a moral point of view for profit health care insurance are pimping off of health care professionals.

From an ethical point of view, the insurance lobby and campaign contributions have brought out the worst in our elected officials.”””””

“That was what I was trying to say. The fat cats got the government to do less regulation and get off the back of big business. In an effort to reach across the aisle, Bill Clinton signed the Gramm-Leach Bill which gutted Glass-Steagal. So much for bipartisonship.”

“It all started when His Gippership said "Government is not the solution to our problems. Government is the problem" Then he proceeded to show us why?”

“We can continue pussyfooting around with the private for profit health care insurance companies for the next 100 years and things will be no better.. It is like talking to Osama Bin Laden. They need to be either made to be not for profit or they need to be nationalized and run like Medicare. That might sound like socialized Medicine (which works very well BTW in Scandanavia and on the European continent but what we have here is fascist medicine.

From an economics point of view, as far as free enterprise producing a better product, they are the exception that proves the rule.

From a moral point of view for profit health care insurance are pimping off of health care professionals.

From an ethical point of view, the insurance lobby and campaign contributions have brought out the worst in our elected officials.””””

“doofman02 sounds like someone who makes regular trips to Vegas . By definition I suspect that he goes home with less money than he had before the trip in much the same way that McCain does. On the other hand, Obama playing for samall stakes, Obama usually ended up the winner at the end of the evening.”

“There are some people who have the misfortune to have overwealming genetic predisposition to disease, but even they can improve their lot in life . A huge improvement in public health can be accomplished by proper lifestyle including diet, exercise and avoidance of obesity. Given the lock that the private for profit health care insurance companies have on health care in the USA, it is in all of our interest to reduce the amount that we need to depend on the healing professions.”

“McCain was a terrible candidate for the simple reason that voters correctly decided that he would have been a terrible President. At a minimum, Obama was the better of the 2 candidates.”

“It is not as if GW Bush cleaned too many clocks with his Don't mess with Texas approach to foreign affairs. McCain with his Yosemite Sam routine would have cleaned all kinds of clocks lol.”

“It is conceiveable that Obama is a snake oil salesman and I do have my issues with him. But it is clear to me beyond the shadow of a doubt the 8 years of Bush/Cheney was a scam that makes Bernie Maddoff pale by comparison. McCain would have been GW Bush on steroids.
What has Obama done? For one thing, in October 2002, he predicted with detailed, uncanney accuracy what would happen if we invaded Iraq, whem most Americans were gung-ho for that war. Since I graduated from college in 1960, I have been in managerial positions and around extremely intellegent people. There are young officers and medical school graduates that hit the ground running and there are those who are still struggling after 30 years. Until GW Bush, James Buchanon was considered our worst President and he had the most complete résumé imaginable.”

“Right! screw diplomacy.Let's fight it out like real men! Let the strongest survive. But I do agree with some of what you say.”

“I trust that the people criticizing Obama now did not vote for that dysfunctional misfit, serial failure in business in 2000 and 2004 or that intellectually challenged, superstitious compulsive gambler with an anger management problem in 2008.”

“doofmann02 replied on Dec 24, 2009 at 10:19:23
“There is no way I would take him to Vegas, especially with the bipartisan talk and follow up behavior that he still clings to. Good way to get people to leverage against you.”

People who have played poker with Obama say that if he does the Presidency, the way he plays poker, they will sleep very well.

Contrast that with compulsive crapshooter John McCain who spends as much as 14 hours at craps tables, by definition, losing overall. He go shot down over Vietnam because he gambled by not following Naval Proceedures.”

“In the fall of 2007, people had sent in tons of money, Hillary seemed unstoppable. He was not doing that great in the debates. When all the chips were down at the Iowa Caucus, he racked in a big pot. He was prepared for the campaign after Super Tuesday.
Just because, you did not understand the depth of what he was saying, does not mean that there was no substance. google Obama October 2002 Iraq speech. He predicted with uncanny accuracy what would happen if we invaded Iraq when 70% of Americans thought Iraq had something to do with 9/11. I just turned 71 and he snagged me too.”

“Obama is a poker player. He reads his opponents well. He keeps a poker face. He sees how people bet. When his chips are down , the odds are on his side. he usually finishes the evening as a winner. I watched him do all this in the Primary.”

“yep”

““We can continue pussyfooting around with the private for profit health care insurance companies for the next 100 year and things will be no better.. It is like talking to Osama Bin Laden. They need to be either made to be not for profit or they need to be nationalized and run like Medicare. That might sound like socialized Medicine (which works very well in Scandanavia and on the European continent but what we have here is fascist medicine.

From an economics point of view, as far as free enterprise producing a better product, they are the exception that proves the rule.

From a moral point of view they are pimping off of health care professionals.

From an ethical point of view, the insurance lobby and campaign contributions have brought out the worst in our elected officials.””

“Unless our electorate starts becoming more like the socialized European countries, we will continue to spend twice as much as they on health care that is not as good as theirs. Obama has tried to work with the other side and now it is time to become "No more Mr. Nice Guy"

Private for profit health care insurance should not exist. There are basic differences between them and other business enterprises that produce and market goods and services. Unlike the latter where the profit motive, usually produces BETTER goods and services, when health care insurance companies are run for profit the result is a WORSE product.”

“Administrative expenses for medicare are 2%. adminstrative expenses for private for profit health care insurance companies is 20-25% .

What does Medicare and Private for profit health care insurance companies have in common.
It is necessary to have personnel and systems that can navigate through DRGs (diagnosis related groups) and CPTs (current procedure terminology), billing codes, etc. Overhead for Medicare is about 2% and private insurance companies have an overhead of 20-25%. The difference between the two is the function in private insurance companies of NOT providing funds for healthcare for the purpose of generating profit for CEOs, top management and stockholders. We can continue to have free enterprise as defined by those who are pimping off of health care professionals or we can have health care in the USA as inexpensively and as good as 36 or so other industrialized nations. BUT WE CANNOT HAVE BOTH WE NEED TO NATIONALIZE THE HEALTHCARE INSURANCE COMPANIES OR MAKE THEM NOT FOR PROFIT”””””

“We should not have top management of insurance companies getting obscenely rich by pimping off of doctors, nurses and other health care professionals.”

“Fascist medicine is not working well in the USA.
Socialized medicine works well in Scandinavia and continental Europe”

“Nationalize them or make them not for profit.”

“Anything that does not kill the private for profit health care insurance companies will make them stronger and they are too strong already.”

“If you had food insurance and went to the grocery store, you'd scoop up everything without considering price because you'd pay the same price regardless.

That is what is called a strawman argument. Obviously, if people abused having health care in that way, it would be bad. You claim that would be the result from people not having their health care coverage from private for profit health care insurance companies. Please explain to me how that works.”

“I agree that it was the middle class and especially an upwardly mobile middle class is what made this country great. I see the poiticians as whores rather than pimps. I think that business is quick to blame government' s actions but those actions are often at the behest of special interest lobbies.

I also agree that strong robust competition is what has made Captialism so productive for so many people. If the rule is that free enterprise generally results in producing a better product, private for profit health insurance companies are the exception that proves that rule.


There are several basic differences between the above mentioned insurance companies and ,say, an automobile manufacturer.

“1. Demand for health care is INELASTIC meaning you will pay any price to get it particularly when your life is at stake, therefore the law of supply and demand CANNOT work.

That is why pricing is regulated in civilized countries and profiting from basic care is outlawed.”

2. Competition apparently does not work for private health care insurance companies in the same way that it does for others marketing other goods and services. Health care spending is mostly non-discretional and therefore the law of supply and demand in the marketplace really does not function.

3. If the insurance is paid for by the employer but used by the employee, that also changes things.

4. Finally the insurance company has financial incentive of denying claims thus marketing an inferior product.”

“Our elected officials are bought and paid for by the private for profit health care insurance companies. We can't expect them to betray those who have put all that money in their pockets.”