Time to tell the slow to react that the reform is about changing the way insurance works, not the care itself. Granted a health care system, as we know it, includes insurance, modifying the insurance process does not preclude changing the treatment of the sick.
Three things to keep in mind as this debate goes forward
1. Insurance premiums have grown three times faster than your wages
2. Medicare is going in the red in 8 to 10 years.
3. Health insurance executives salaries. Why would they not want reform?
* Ron Williams - Aetna - Total Compensation: $24,300,112.
* H. Edward Hanway - CIGNA - Total Compensation: $12,236,740.
* Angela Braly - WellPoint - Total Compensation: $9,844,212.
* Dale Wolf - Coventry Health Care - Total Compensation: $9,047,469.
* Michael Neidorff - Centene - Total Compensation: $8,774,483.
* James Carlson - AMERIGROUP - Total Compensation: $5,292,546.
* Michael McCallister - Humana - Total Compensation: $4,764,309.
* Jay Gellert - Health Net - Total Compensation: $4,425,355.
* Richard Barasch - Universal American - Total Compensation: $3,503,702.
* Stephen Hemsley - UnitedHealth Group - Total Compensation: $3,241,042.
Why don't we cap their salaries at $1,000,000 (as well as capping other execs in those companies) and put the money back to lower premiums.
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Comments: 11
Personally, those compensation packages don't bother me one bit. Businesses are in business to make money. Executives take years to get to the positon where they make that kind of money. In many cases, they were the very ones who started the companies...and took the risks....and went for years without much compenstion at all.
I'm more concerned about Big Pharma...that skews studies that show that NATURAL supplements can help more than any prescription drugs they can come up with. Or Big Pharma that says in the next 10 years, they will make sure 90% of all Americans are taking cholesterol drugs...even if they don't need them. Those are the ones I worry about.
The free market ideal is providing goods and services and making money at it. It has nothing to do with the quality of the goods and services. Because everyone needs health care, people will buy whatever's available. Insurance companies have no incentive to improve the product because it won't affect the bottom line.
That's not a criticism of the free market. It's a description of how it works in a scenario where competition on quality isn't productive.
the insurance companies need to cut the fat so that the costs to customers can be cut.
the insurance companies aren't going anywhere. they may have to merge like the banks, the auto companies, the phone companies, etc., etc. they will have to become competitive with the outside world instead of holding a monopoly within their own industry.
if your health insurance company decided not to pay for a life sustaining procedure for someone in your family; but chose to use the money for that procedure to give their top boss a bonus; would you still think that was ok?
We paid those expensive premiums and we can't say 100% that we will be covered when needed. They can say 100% they will make this much money.
They are fighting reform and you think they are doing it on your behalf.
I can't say the plans out there are the best deal we can get, but I know what we have right now, while it works for myself and my family, does not work for America.
Whatever, some people, compounded with my soccer game loss, really piss me off tonight.
OFF of GAther! See you on Friday or something.
No sugar coating will make the opposition embrace this terrible idea.