cost of medical care in our country?

[JCricket]

Hey folks,
I was thinking(careful dangerous waters ahead). I had a rather obvious lightb u.b flicker in the old thinker.

What is the cost of medical care and where does that cost come from?

We know John and Jane Doe need X amount of care per year. This would be something like a doctors visit, mabye a surgical procedure, a few drugs, some physical thereapy etc. From this, we could add up all of the needs for everyone in our country, and possibly get a cost of medical care for a year in our country - right?

Well no. We forgot on big piece, the "profit" needed for the insurance companies. No matter what we do, no matter what happens, the insurance companies are going to make their profit. No big news here, right?

So my small little thought was this:
In my world I have a budget. This includeds things like heat, electricity, groceries, rent or mortgage, etc. I have to make choices on what to pay for just like everyone else. My choices are based on priorities and a decision on how to allocate my $'s.

For me to choose, I need to be able to KNOWwhat my expenses are going to be. I can't just say I am going to put out "x" dollars arbitrarily. I need to decide what gets paid first, second and so on. Somewhere in there I start picking what wil be bought and what won't.

The point, our cost of medical care in this country is in fact a finite amount - we as the people just have no clue what that cost is. We the people, myself included, believe insurance will pick up some of that cost.

Wrong, they are part of that cost and I would bet a substantial amount of it too.

So, how do we manage something when we don't even know what it is.

Kind of a small and weak point, but how can we fix the issue when we don't have a clue how broken it is?

A lot of fluff with little said here, but I had to kind of organize me thinks a bit

till later
mark

[Oerets]

If you own a car or have appliances the maintenance cost involved with them is also hard to budget for. For me it seems as soon as there is some left over then it is needed for something else.


Just try and remember every dollar in profit the insurance provider makes is a dollar not paid in claims. Just wounder if it would be cheaper for us if they were to be run as non-profits?



Barney

[bobabode]

Originally Posted by Oerets

If you own a car or have appliances the maintenance cost involved with them is also hard to budget for. For me it seems as soon as there is some left over then it is needed for something else.


Just try and remember every dollar in profit the insurance provider makes is a dollar not paid in claims. Just wounder if it would be cheaper for us if they were to be run as non-profits?



Barney

I've always understood that the insurance biz was designed initially as a non-profit organization. After administrative costs the fund was held in reserve for the occasional rainy day. (or tornados and hurricanes)

[whell]

Originally Posted by bobabode

I've always understood that the insurance biz was designed initially as a non-profit organization. After administrative costs the fund was held in reserve for the occasional rainy day. (or tornados and hurricanes)

Th earliest insurance was a for-profit affair dating back to 14th or 15th century Italy (I think). The maritime industry insured cargo from loss, and the industry was backed by wealthy estate owners (those rich bastards had their fingers in the cookie jar even way back then!).

[d-ray657]

Originally Posted by whell

Th earliest insurance was a for-profit affair dating back to 14th or 15th century Italy (I think). The maritime industry insured cargo from loss, and the industry was backed by wealthy estate owners (those rich bastards had their fingers in the cookie jar even way back then!).

Well, I would like to think that we have advanced past 14th or 15th century mores in providing for the medical care of our fellow travelers.

Regards,

D-Ray

[bobabode]

Originally Posted by whell

Th earliest insurance was a for-profit affair dating back to 14th or 15th century Italy (I think). The maritime industry insured cargo from loss, and the industry was backed by wealthy estate owners (those rich bastards had their fingers in the cookie jar even way back then!).

Whell, we are talking about America right? I certainly don't want to emulate the wacked 14th or 15th century Borgia type economic system in Italy. Do you?

[bhunter]

http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/...lousy-villains

Perhaps, we all ought be attacking Apple or Microsoft since their margins are far greater than insurance companies or even those evil oil companies.

[d-ray657]

Originally Posted by bhunter

http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/...lousy-villains

Perhaps, we all ought be attacking Apple or Microsoft since their margins are far greater than insurance companies.

Where do I sign up?

Regards,

D-Ray

[JCricket]

Originally Posted by Oerets

If you own a car or have appliances the maintenance cost involved with them is also hard to budget for. For me it seems as soon as there is some left over then it is needed for something else.


Just try and remember every dollar in profit the insurance provider makes is a dollar not paid in claims. Just wounder if it would be cheaper for us if they were to be run as non-profits?



Barney

I personally think anything thatis connected to health care in any way, should be non-profit. It completely changes the dyanimcs of how things would be done. Companies(pharmaceuticals, medical suplies, etc), would still need to compete to stay in business, but all of their costs would be covered. Any profits could go to shore up medicare, medicaid, and SSI. Justa thought.

[JCricket]

Originally Posted by bhunter

http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/...lousy-villains

Perhaps, we all ought be attacking Apple or Microsoft since their margins are far greater than insurance companies or even those evil oil companies.

Dang pinko commie

This is in my opinion, the root of ALL of our economic problems, at least the current superficial ones.