A modest proposal for health care reform?

[Trader]

I enjoyed that extra hour of sleep I got from the change back to standard time this weekend. It even gave me an idea on health care reform that makes at least as much sense as other proposals before Congress.

Congress should pass a law requiring us to turn back our clocks one hour every night. This would give us 25 hour days and enable us to get more sleep. Since lack of sleep is a significant health hazard, we could fix that problem with a simple law. Sure, 6AM would sometimes be total darkness and sometimes at midday. Maybe Congress could also pass a law requiring the sun to rise on their new schedule.

To me this is more sensible than requiring everyone to pay the same health insurance premiums regardless of the risks they choose to take. It will severely penalize the young, who will have to pay rates far above market rates for health insurance and spend their whole lives paying interest on the massive debt the “reform” will create.

This may be a just payback for the age group that overwhelmingly voted for our current President.

 

[Stjudeprayforus]

Hahaha!

Count me in! I enjoyed the extra sleep as well !!!



Trader for President!

 

[aspawloski4th]

I enjoyed that extra hour of sleep I got from the change back to standard time this weekend. It even gave me an idea on health care reform that makes at least as much sense as other proposals before Congress.

Congress should pass a law requiring us to turn back our clocks one hour every night. This would give us 25 hour days and enable us to get more sleep. Since lack of sleep is a significant health hazard, we could fix that problem with a simple law. Sure, 6AM would sometimes be total darkness and sometimes at midday. Maybe Congress could also pass a law requiring the sun to rise on their new schedule.

To me this is more sensible than requiring everyone to pay the same health insurance premiums regardless of the risks they choose to take. It will severely penalize the young, who will have to pay rates far above market rates for health insurance and spend their whole lives paying interest on the massive debt the “reform” will create.

This may be a just payback for the age group that overwhelmingly voted for our current President.

health risks. other than smoking, like what?

 

[Lynxdk]

We actually tried this about 20 years ago, back when the US had the best universal healthcare system in the world, with clinics about ten minutes apart in any direction where all you had to do is walk in, show your care card, and get medical care in an hour or less…

Unfortunately something happened when the times zones got out of sync with Canada, and some really funky time/space dilation thing occurred (you’d have to ask a scientist to explain it, but after the government cover up, I don’t think you’ll find one that’ll say anything) and we somehow ended up exchanging healthcare systems with Canada… Luckily that was the only thing that switched, as far as I remember…

 

[Trader]

health risks. other than smoking, like what?

Besides smoking which the government has officially linked to cancer since 1964, overeating which leads to obesity, drug and alcohol abuse, and sexual promiscuity are behaviors that significantly increase risks and therefore the demand for health services. Increased demand will always put upward pressure on costs until Congress manages to repeal the law of supply and demand.

Lack of sleep has been shown to be a risk factor for diabetes and accidents.

Just a few weeks ago on our local Catholic radio station, a doctor specializing in neurology made the claim that obesity has been linked to the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease. A woman with a waist size greater than 35 inches has a risk 700% greater than a woman of normal weight. A man with a waist size greater than 40 inches has a 400% greater chance of developing Alzheimer’s.

Any rational health insurance reform that would seek to reduce costs needs to change behavior by charging higher premiums for risky behaviors. Diseases like Alzheimer’s and AIDS have very high human and financial costs that could be reduced by reducing risky behavior.

Should the owner of a 12 year old minivan with no tickets in 43 years(like me) pay the same auto insurance premium as the neighbor with a brand new Corvette and a recent DWI conviction? Not even our Congress has been dumb enough to propose that.

Why should the sexually promiscuous drug abusing obese smoker be charged the same health insurance rates as the person who chooses none of those behaviors? That is precisely what Medicare and Medicaid programs do already. Now Congress wants to require that every indidual purchase health insurance, while simultaneously proposing community ratings that forbid private insurance companies from charging higher rates for people with many risky behaviors.

 

[Trader]

Hahaha!

Count me in! I enjoyed the extra sleep as well !!!



Trader for President!

Thanks for your support. Running on a platform of personal responisibility would get me about 3 votes.

Would you like to know where to send your campaign contributions?

 

[aspawloski4th]

Besides smoking which the government has officially linked to cancer since 1964, overeating which leads to obesity, drug and alcohol abuse, and sexual promiscuity are behaviors that significantly increase risks and therefore the demand for health services. Increased demand will always put upward pressure on costs until Congress manages to repeal the law of supply and demand.

Lack of sleep has been shown to be a risk factor for diabetes and accidents.

Just a few weeks ago on our local Catholic radio station, a doctor specializing in neurology made the claim that obesity has been linked to the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease. A woman with a waist size greater than 35 inches has a risk 700% greater than a woman of normal weight. A man with a waist size greater than 40 inches has a 400% greater chance of developing Alzheimer’s.

Any rational health insurance reform that would seek to reduce costs needs to change behavior by charging higher premiums for risky behaviors. Diseases like Alzheimer’s and AIDS have very high human and financial costs that could be reduced by reducing risky behavior.

Should the owner of a 12 year old minivan with no tickets in 43 years(like me) pay the same auto insurance premium as the neighbor with a brand new Corvette and a recent DWI conviction? Not even our Congress has been dumb enough to propose that.

Why should the sexually promiscuous drug abusing obese smoker be charged the same health insurance rates as the person who chooses none of those behaviors? That is precisely what Medicare and Medicaid programs do already. Now Congress wants to require that every indidual purchase health insurance, while simultaneously proposing community ratings that forbid private insurance companies from charging higher rates for people with many risky behaviors.

Are we going to follow these people around to determine what their risks are? My grandmother was always skinny as a rail and now has altzheimers. if questioned most people are going to answer what gives them the best rate even if it means outright lieing.

 

[Trader]

Are we going to follow these people around to determine what their risks are? My grandmother was always skinny as a rail and now has altzheimers. if questioned most people are going to answer what gives them the best rate even if it means outright lieing.

If you apply for an individual health, or life, or auto insurance policy, they ask questions about your risks. A person who lies on the application commits a crime and can be imprisoned for it.

Especially with the computing power available today actuaries could calculate individual rates based on facts. Just like the auto insurance rate goes down if you avoid accidents or violations for a few years, quit smoking, lose weight, or complete drug rehab to reduce your risks and you reduce your rates.

If you saw 60 Minutes this Sunday, they did a piece on the widespread Medicare fraud for medical devices in Florida. Government workers do not have the same motivation to eliminate fraud as the workers for private companies. To base a new insurance system on the bankrupt Medicare system is madness.

 

[aspawloski4th]

If Im asked if I smoke and answered no, there is no way to prove I lied.

 

[Trader]

If Im asked if I smoke and answered no, there is no way to prove I lied.

Of course there is. Smokers may suffer from a diminished sense of smell, but any non- smoking doctor, dentist, nurse, or insurance agent will smell the smoke on your breath, hair, and clothes.

A few years ago, while Lincoln National Insurance still had its headquarters here, there was a case that gained national attention. One of their customers was killed in an accident while helping a stranded motorist. Lincoln refused to pay his death benefit because they were able to prove that he had lied on his application about his smoking habit. The claim went all the way to the CEO, Ian Rolland, who eventually decided to pay the claim because of the negative publicity involving a insurance cheater who died while doing a good deed. He also made it clear that this was a one time thing and that no other insurance cheats would be paid.

 

[aspawloski4th]

Of course there is. Smokers may suffer from a diminished sense of smell, but any non- smoking doctor, dentist, nurse, or insurance agent will smell the smoke on your breath, hair, and clothes.

A few years ago, while Lincoln National Insurance still had its headquarters here, there was a case that gained national attention. One of their customers was killed in an accident while helping a stranded motorist. Lincoln refused to pay his death benefit because they were able to prove that he had lied on his application about his smoking habit. The claim went all the way to the CEO, Ian Rolland, who eventually decided to pay the claim because of the negative publicity involving a insurance cheater who died while doing a good deed. He also made it clear that this was a one time thing and that no other insurance cheats would be paid.

Thats if I’m a chain smoker, but if I am a 4 cigarette a day smoker like a friend of mine you wont notice the difference. As for other things You can’t prove eating habits. Everyone in my dad’s family has a cholesterol less than 100, so are you going to say they all eat healthy? Well I say no, they are the bigest bunch of carnivores in this part of the world, and they like their deserts. No diebetics to be found in dad’s family either.

 

[Bluegoat]

Of course there is. Smokers may suffer from a diminished sense of smell, but any non- smoking doctor, dentist, nurse, or insurance agent will smell the smoke on your breath, hair, and clothes.

A few years ago, while Lincoln National Insurance still had its headquarters here, there was a case that gained national attention. One of their customers was killed in an accident while helping a stranded motorist. Lincoln refused to pay his death benefit because they were able to prove that he had lied on his application about his smoking habit. The claim went all the way to the CEO, Ian Rolland, who eventually decided to pay the claim because of the negative publicity involving a insurance cheater who died while doing a good deed. He also made it clear that this was a one time thing and that no other insurance cheats would be paid.

Wow. We used to have that kind of thing here with house insurance. If lightning struck your house and it burned down, and they found you had an illegal wood stove, they could refuse to pay out. Now they can’t do that unless the stove is actually what causes the problem. I am pretty sure insurance companies should be put in the same category as other “evil corporations suited to be the enemy in comic-based or James Bond movies”.

 

[Trader]

Wow. We used to have that kind of thing here with house insurance. If lightning struck your house and it burned down, and they found you had an illegal wood stove, they could refuse to pay out. Now they can’t do that unless the stove is actually what causes the problem. I am pretty sure insurance companies should be put in the same category as other “evil corporations suited to be the enemy in comic-based or James Bond movies”.

What category would you use for the person who lies on an application in order to get a lower premium? Insurance is a contract between two parties. Both have an equal obligation to honor the terms to which they agree. The person who commits insurance fraud may have a void contract.

One of the big problems with our current health insurance system is that for most people the contract is between an employer and the insurance company. The employee often does not understand what is covered and rarely knows what the coverage costs. A sick employee has little leverage because he is not really the customer of the insurance company. If you substitute government for the employer, you wind up with exactly the same problem, except that government workers have even less incentives to control costs and eliminate fraud. Government workers almost never lose their jobs just because their performance is mediocre, but private workers do.

 

[aspawloski4th]

What category would you use for the person who lies on an application in order to get a lower premium? Insurance is a contract between two parties. Both have an equal obligation to honor the terms to which they agree. The person who commits insurance fraud may have a void contract.

One of the big problems with our current health insurance system is that for most people the contract is between an employer and the insurance company. The employee often does not understand what is covered and rarely knows what the coverage costs. A sick employee has little leverage because he is not really the customer of the insurance company. If you substitute government for the employer, you wind up with exactly the same problem, except that government workers have even less incentives to control costs and eliminate fraud. Government workers almost never lose their jobs just because their performance is mediocre, but private workers do.

Health insurance got to be an employer benefit because there once was a time where businesses actually competed for employees. The employer who had the best benefits usually got the best employees and ended up with the best product to sell or did the businesses line of service on account of having the bstemployees. Yes A busniness should have to compete for the bst employees as well as customers.

 

[Trader]

Health insurance got to be an employer benefit because there once was a time where businesses actually competed for employees. The employer who had the best benefits usually got the best employees and ended up with the best product to sell or did the businesses line of service on account of having the bstemployees. Yes A busniness should have to compete for the bst employees as well as customers.

I agree with you on competing for both employees and customers, but there is more to how the current situation developed. Federal tax laws make insurance benefits tax deductible for the employer, and they should be. They are a legitimate business expense just like salaries. Unlike most other pay and benefits, employer provided health insurance is not taxable for the recipient.

A reasonable employee will prefer benefits that are tax free rather than a taxable benefit. Because the benefit is not taxed, employees have little interest in what it costs the employer and seek plans that cost much more than the one they would choose if they had to pay for it themselves. Since no employer can provide unlimited pay for his employees, the skyrocketing cost of health insurance means lower cash wages for workers.

To further complicate the situation, the self employed got only a partial deduction for health insurance and individuals who buy their own get none at all. The system is not fair or efficient. Because of our progressive income tax rates, the tax benefits are a boon the highly paid worker, and of little of no value the the low paid worker. Many employees of large companies wind up overinsured while those outside of large companies are not allowed a good choice of plans. Many states require coverage that an individual would not choose on his own and you are not allowed to buy insurance from another state.

Why should a single 60 year old man be offered only policies that cover maternity care and contraception?